2012 USA Indoor Championships

PREVIEW: 2012 USA Indoor Championships - Men's Running Events

PREVIEW: 2012 USA Indoor Championships - Men's Running Events

Feb 24, 2012 by USATF News
PREVIEW: 2012 USA Indoor Championships - Men's Running Events
American record holders Lagat, Rupp, Oliver, Trammell highlight men's running events at USAIndoors

USA Indoor Championship Event Previews:
Women's Field | Men's Field | Women's Running | Men's Running

Archived Video | Entries | Schedule | LIVE Streaming Info




INDIANAPOLIS – 2010 World Indoor bronze medalist David Oliver and two-time World Indoor gold medalist Terrence Trammell will battle in the men’s 60m hurdles while American record holder Galen Rupp and reigning World Indoor 3,000-meter champion Bernard Lagat will renew their rivalry in the 3,000m once again when the USA Indoor Track & FieldChampionships converge on the Albuquerque Convention Center February 25-26 in Albuquerque, N.M.

The fourth and final stop on the indoor Visa Championship Series, the meet will be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday, February 26, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Eastern.

You can also tune in via a live webcast on www.usatf.org provided in partnership with RunnerSpace on Saturday from 4:30-8:20 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00-4:10 p.m. mountain time. The webcast will feature full coverage of Saturday’s events including the men’s and women’s 3,000m races, and select events on Sunday.

With the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, the New Mexico Sports Authority, University of New Mexico, the city of Albuquerque and USATF New Mexico all as official hosts, this is the third consecutive year the Albuquerque Convention Center has hosted theUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Spots will be on the line for members of Team USAfor the upcoming World Indoor Championships, which will be held March 9-11 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Oliver, Trammell face off in men’s 60m hurdles
Two of the fastest American hurdlers ever, Oliver holds the American outdoor record in the 110m hurdles and Trammell owns a share of the indoor 60m hurdles American record. Trammell’s personal best of 7.36 gave him the silver medal at the 2010 World Indoor Championships.

The two have already met twice this indoor season at the U.S. Open at Madison Square Garden and at the Millrose Games with each hurdler winning once. At the rarely run 50m hurdle distance, Trammell took home top honors at the U.S. Open while Oliver bested thefield at the Millrose Games. At 7.51, Oliver has recorded the fourth fastest time in the world this year with Trammell coming in close behind at 7.52 and the fifth fastest in the world.

Oliver and Trammell were ranked #3 and #9, respectively, in the 110m hurdles in 2011 by Track & Field News. Also expected to be in the mix is 2011 USA Outdoor runner-up Aries Merritt, who placed third at the Millrose Games just two one-hundredths of a second from first place.

Lagat vs. Rupp part II
Two of the biggest names in American distance running will battle once again in Albuquerque. In 2011 Lagat and Rupp matched up in the 3,000m at the USA Indoor Championships with Lagat holding on for the victory.

The two have already seen success this indoor season and traded American records in a single weekend of competition. At the USA Track & Field Classic, Rupp broke Lagat’s American record in the 2-mile with a time of 8:09.72. Meanwhile, at the Millrose Games, Lagat regained the American record in the 5,000m from Rupp with a new indoor personal best of 13:07.15.

Lagat owns a total of seven indoor and outdoor American records while Rupp is also the American record holder in the outdoor 10,000m.

Centrowitz leads deep 1,500m field
Matthew Centrowitz burst onto the international scene in 2011 with a bronze medal in the 1,500m at the World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The relative rookie also bettered a deep field to win the USA Outdoor Championships, which happened shortly after he picked up the 2011 NCAA Outdoor title competing for the University of Oregon.

Centrowitz picked up where he left off this indoor season and is the top entrant in in this weekend’s 1,500m. Centrowitz proved he is still at an elite level when he won the mile at the Millrose Games in a time of 3:53.92. That time is currently the fastest run by an American this indoor season and the third fastest in the world.

Centrowitz may pick up challenges from Rupp, who is also entered in the 1,500m, and three-time USA Outdoor runner-up Leo Manzano.

For more information on the USA Indoor Championships, the Visa Championships Series orUSA Track & Field visit www.VisaChampionshipSeries.com and www.usatf.org.
About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: 
www.usatf.org.