Road to Eugene meet returns 5/27/07 Hayward Field

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http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=38569.html

Mack and Mutola head The ‘Road to Eugene 08’ cast
Friday 4 May 2007
Eugene, Oregon, USA - Hayward Field welcomes the return of the Road to Eugene 08 meet, an elite high performance invitational on Sunday 27 May in which some of the world’s best athletes will compete in 15 events for over $150,000 in prize money.

Athletes already confirmed are reigning global outdoor champions Tianna Madison (2005 World Long Jump) and Tim Mack (Olympic Pole Vault), and multiple World and Olympic champions Maria Mutola (800m) and Stacy Dragila (Pole Vault), as well as Olympic Pole Vault silver medallist Toby Stevenson.

The meet will also feature innovative ways to bring the fans and athletes closer together, including special opportunities for youth to connect with their track and field heroes. Young athletes will have the chance to race in front of thousands of fans at Hayward Field in the Kids’ Half-Lapper during the meet and practice their skills at the KidZone sponsored by City of Eugene Recreation, River Road Park and Recreation, and KidSports.

Additionally, there will be a men’s and a women’s 5000m race on Saturday, 26 May, paced to allow athletes to chase the IAAF "A" standard for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Hosted by the Eugene Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials –Track & Field (Eugene 08), the meet is a part of the committee’s focus to advance the sport of track and field in the United States. The meet will benefit the Professional Athletics Association (PAA), which was established to provide organized support for track and field athletes.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/ ... ion=sports

Good timing lures top athletes for Road '08
By Curtis Anderson
The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Despite its late entry onto the U.S. track and field calendar, the timing is working out well for the second annual Road to Eugene '08 high-performance meet at Hayward Field on May 27.
It's the second stop on a four-week series of U.S. meets that has many top Americans putting their European plans on hold, according to Piotr Buciarski, the Road to Eugene '08 meet promoter.
The first meet is the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif., on May 20; followed by Road to Eugene '08 on May 27; Reebok Grand Prix in New York City on June 2 and the Prefontaine Classic on June 10 at Hayward Field.
"A lot of athletes are opting to stay and compete in the U.S. instead of going to Europe," said Buciarski, the former standout pole vaulter at Oregon. "Our meet falls very well into that American series."
One local star who already has made plans to compete at the Road to Eugene '08 meet is Nick Symmonds, of Oregon Track Club Elite, fresh off a victory in the 800 meters at the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan on Saturday.
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The 23-year-old Symmonds, who will face a world-class 800 field at the Pre Classic, burst onto the national scene last summer.
He finished second to U.S. champion Khadevis Robinson at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a PR of 1 minute, 45.83 seconds, and captured the 2007 U.S. indoor title this past winter.
On Saturday, Symmonds held off Australia's Jeffrey Riseley to win the 800 in Osaka with a 1:49.45 clocking.
"Any time you go to a Grand Prix meet and come home with the victory, it's a great win," OTC Elite coach Frank Gagliano said.
"Nobody has to worry about times. The idea in this sport is winning and he won it. The times will come."
Other top entries in the men's 800 are Robinson, ranked seventh in the world by Track & Field News magazine last season; third-ranked American David Krummenacker; and OTC Elite teammate Matt Scherer, an ex-Duck who won the Oregon Twilight 800 last Saturday at 1:47.89.
Buciarski said an elite women's 800 field is taking shape with Maria Mutola (five-time Olympian), Hazel Clark (top-ranked American), Diane Cummins, Alice Schmidt and Marion Burnett among the confirmed entries.
Other notable women expected to compete include 2000 Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila in the pole vault; '05 world champion Tianna Madison and Olympian Grace Upshaw in the long jump; and Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London, a World Championship silver medalist, in the 100 hurdles.
On the men's side, '04 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack, '04 silver medalist Toby Stevenson and '06 world indoor champion Brad Walker are scheduled to compete in the pole vault; Reese Hoffa, ranked No. 1 in the world last year, will take on two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson in the shot put; Matt Tegenkamp and Gabe Jennings are in the 1,500 and ex-UO standout Eric Mitchum is set to run the 110 hurdles.
The Road to Eugene '08 meet will be held from 2-4 p.m. with competition in 15 events. Athletes will vie for more than $150,000 in prize money.
Tickets are $15 reserved and $10 general admission. They can be purchased online at www.goducks.com or by phoning 1-800-WEBFOOT.
A special ticket offer slices the general admission price in half when spectators present a ticket stub from the OSAA state championships, May 17-19, or the NCAA West Regional Championships, May 25-26.
Field for men's 800 meters
at Pre Classic looks stellar
It just might be the best men's 800-meter field assembled in the history of the Prefontaine Classic.
At least meet director Tom Jordan thinks so.
With five athletes who have run under 1:44 flat during their careers, the meet and field records in the 800 could be in jeopardy at the 33rd annual track and field meet June 10 at Hayward Field.
Symmonds, of Oregon Track Club Elite, and Jebreh Harris, the No. 2 American last season, are the only two entries who haven't run under 1:44 - Symmonds has a PR of 1:45.83 and Harris has run 1:45.91.
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The marquee attraction is Russia's Yuriy Borzakovskiy.
The 2004 gold medalist, who earned silver medals at the '03 and '05 World Championships, has a lifetime best of 1:42.47, which makes him the sixth-fastest performer of all-time.
He had the fourth-fastest time in the world last year at 1:43.42.
Robinson, who won the 800 (1:48.61) at the Modesto Relays last Saturday, is the top-ranked American. The three-time U.S. champion finished 2006 with a season-best of 1:43.68.
Canada's Gary Reed (1:43.93), Kenya's Alfred Yego (1:43.89) and American Krummenacker (1:43.92) round out the field.
On the wait list are former UO all-American and OTC Elite's Scherer; Christian Smith of the U.S. (1:44.86) and Trinidad & Tobago's Sheridan Kirk, who won last weekend's Jamaica Invitational at 1:46.68.
The Prefontaine Classic men's 800 record is 1:44.62 set by Johnny Gray in 1996, while the Hayward Field record is shared by Dave Wottle (1:44.3 hand timed, 1972) and Mark Everett (1:44.43, 1993).
Henry earns Pac-10 honor after win at Twilight
Oregon redshirt senior Britney Henry was honored as the Pac-10 Conference's athlete of the week Monday in the women's field event category after tying her school record of 221 feet, 7 inches in the hammer throw at the Oregon Twilight Meet at Hayward Field last Saturday.
Henry's season-best effort moved her into the Pac-10 lead and third overall among collegians this year.
The all-American from Spokane topped a field that included many of the nation's top performers.

[PVAlly]

Do you have a website for this meet to check out competitors and then results??