NEW YORK CITY – Justin Gatlin, the reigning Olympic and World Champion at 100 meters, will headline the 2006 Reebok Grand Prix, organizers announced Tuesday, April 11.
It will be the first time Gatlin, a Brooklyn native, has ever run outdoors in New York City. “The first time I was in Icahn Stadium, I knew you could run sub-10 on that track,” said Gatlin in a media teleconference today, referring to his appearance at the grand opening of the stadium last spring. “It’s New York, hey. It’s where I was born, where I was raised.
There’s not a lot of tracks I can call home, that have a home feel about them, and I think this can be one of those places for me.” During the teleconference, Gatlin also said that he hopes to run 9.75sometime this season.
The world record, held by Asafa Powell of Jamaica, is 9.77. “If Asafa can do it, I can do it,” he said. The Reebok Grand Prix, which in its debut last year was the first international competition held in the new Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, is managed by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., and is the only outdoor East Coast meet that offers head-to-head competition among world-class athletes.
Tickets, at $30 and $20, are now on sale at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com or by calling1-877-TIX-TRAC. Group discounts are available. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., will be broadcast live on ESPN2 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. ET, and is the fourth stop in USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series. As a triple medalist at the 2004 Olympics (100m gold, 4x100m silver, 200m bronze) and 2005 World Champion at both 100m and 200m, Gatlin is the most dominant sprinter in the world.
His winning time in Athens of 9.85 led the fastest 100-meter race in Olympic history, with five men breaking the 10-second barrier, and was the second-fastest Olympic winning time in history. Last year, he solidified his position on the top of the sprint world by becoming just the second man ever to win both the 100 and 200 at the same World Championships, and his margin of victory in the 100 was the biggest ever at the event.
In its inaugural year, the Reebok Grand Prix featured more than two dozen Olympic and World Championship medalists, including Athens gold medalists Liu Xiang (China), Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) and Joanna Hayes (USA). Severa l others, including Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) and Adam Nelson (USA) would go on to triumph at the World Championships last summer.
Icahn Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility on Randall’s Island featuring a 400-meter Mondo track and covered seating for spectators, is the premier outdoor track-and-field venue in New York City. Built by the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation (RISF) in partnership with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Icahn Stadium celebrated its grand opening in April 2005. The facility is programmed, operated and maintained by RISF. For more information, visit www.RISF.org .
Reebok International Ltd., headquartered in Canton, MA, is a leading worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, apparel and equipment. It is also the title sponsor of the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Track-and-field athletes competing for Reebok include 2004 Olympic relay gold medalist Monique Henderson, 2006 US Indoor 1500m champion Chris Lukezic; eight-time World Cross Country Championships medalist Werknesh Kidane and 2006 Commonwealth Games 1500m gold medalist Nick Willis.
