http://www.iaaf.org/WIC04/news/Kind=2/newsId=23888.html
World champions aplenty sign for Fayetteville
Thursday 22 January 2004
Fayetteville, Arkansas USA - This year’s Tyson Foods Invitational meet on 14 February which is part of the USATF Golden Spike Tour should be more impressive than ever, as it can count on such illustrious USA athletes as John Capel, Tyree Washington, David Krummenacker, Allen Johnson, Gail Devers, and Stacy Dragila, and Canada’s new star Perdita Felicien, to provide a spectacular afternoon of entertainment at the Randal Tyson Track Centre.
Last year’s meeting brought a sensational world season leading double for Terrence Trammell in the 60m flat dash and sprint hurdles, and in 2004 we can be assured that over the barriers, World indoor 60m and outdoor 110m Hurdles champion Allen Johnson will also headline. The 32 year-old quadruple World 110m gold medallist takes on Larry Wade who finished fourth behind him in Paris) and was second in Fayetteville in 2003.
On the women’s side, 37 year-old Gail Devers is returning to the meet after taking the win in 7.85 last year. The 2003 World 60m Hurdles champion who has also taken three World titles over 100m Hurdles outdoors, faces the surprise of Paris last summer, Canada’s World champion Perdita Felicien.
Another Paris World champion on show will be John Capel in the men’s 200m. The 25 year-old ended last indoor season as the fast 200m runner thanks to his 20.39 run in Fayetteville, the day before the main invitational part of the meeting took place. The following day he run 6.48 for the 60m dash coming second to Trammell. This year Capel will take on 2001 World Indoor champion Shawn Crawford, whose 20.02 last summer in Rome was the World’s second fastest run of the year outdoors.
Tyree Washington is another of the star names that will be on show on the 14 February and is currently at the top of the IAAF’s World 400m Ranking. He won last year’s World Indoor title in Birmingham and took the silver outdoors in Paris before anchoring home the USA’s 4x400m relay team to gold.
Olympic champion pole vaulter Stacy Dragila who has begun her indoor season in the most promising of fashions with 4.70m and 4.71m vaults in Reno (10 Jan) and Falgstaff (17 Jan) respectively, returns to Fayetteville for the meet which she won last year.
World Indoor 800m champion David Krummenacker leads a strong field in what should be a fast 800 metres race. At the 2003 World Indoor Championships Krummenacker turned in a personal best of 1:45.69 to grab the title. The main challenger should be Kenyan Alex Kipchirchir, the 2002 World Junior 800m champion, who set a World Junior Mile record last September in Rieti.
In the men’s Mile, the field will be headed by two-time defending Tyson Foods Invitational champion, Laban Rotich of Kenya.
IAAF