SCHEDULE / ENTRIES

adidas GRAND PRIX COVERAGE

The adidas Grand Prix 2011 in New York, one of the nation's premier outdoor meets, is the sixth stop on the international Samsung Diamond League circuit. It routinely features Olympic and World Champion talent from around the world. It's also the final event in the adidas Golden Stripes series, and will gather the nation's best preps for the Dream 100 and Dream Mile races.

Dream Mile preview
Dream 100 preview

Here are some pro races to watch out for...

Women's Steeple

The women's steeple features the #1 and #2 runners in the world right now in Milcah Chemos of Kenya and Sofia Assefa of Ethiopia. The two women battled earlier this season, with Chemos winning 9:12.89 to Assefa's 9:15.04. Lydia Rotich of Kenya (#4 in the world) is also in the field and has run 9:19 this year already.

American Lisa Aguilera has only run 9:43.95 this year, but this could be a great opportunity for the perennial steeple great to be in the 9:30 to 9:35 range. 

Men's 400 Hurdles

Can LJ van Zyl be touched? The Russian has been nothing short of incredible so far this season, setting the 5 fastest times in the world and currently ranking as the only man to break 48 this year. The top Americans in the field could give him a run if they are on, as Bershawn "Batman" Jackson and youngster Johnny Dutch have better lifetime bests than van Zyl. David Greene of Great Britain has run 48.24 so far this season, and was second to van Zyl in Rome. American Justin Gaymon has run 48.58 this season, and could be in the mix for the win.

400

Will Jeremy Wariner rebound? He was off at the Prefontaine Classic last week, faltering down the homestretch and finishing second. Will he back to his normally dominating form? He will have his hands full with a deep field of 44 high to 45 mid runners. Rondell Bartholomew of Grenada leads the world right now with his 44.65 from early April. But this race is all about Wariner…will the real Jeremy Wariner please stand up?

Men's 1500

This isn't a Diamond League event, but that didn't deter and top Americans from entering. This will be a stacked American field, and yet another opportunity for some of these runners to try and get an 'A' Standard out of the way. Kenyans Caleb Ndiku (World #7) and Daniel Komen (3:33 this year) lead a field that includes Olympic medalist Nick Willis and Americans David Torrence, Leo Manzano, Lopez Lomong, Will Leer and Bobby Curtis (in the 1500!!). Will we see some American's under the 3:35.50 standard? We should.

Men's 100

American Tyson Gay proved last week with his 9.79 that he isn't rusty in the least. Gay's marks leads the world right now, with the world's #2 in Steve Mullings of Jamaica also competing in this race. Mullings ran a 9.80 last week at the Pre Classic, as he has now broken 10 three separate times this season. With Bolt looking human at both Rome and Ostrava (9.91 on both occasions) is the door open for a challenger later in the summer at Worlds? Saturday could give us some more information. Look for the winner to potentially be in the 9.70 to 9.75 range if conditions permit.

Women's 1500

We were bummed to see that Christin Wurth-Thomas wasn't entered, as she was robbed last week (essentially pushed off the track while leading with 200 left). However, there is plenty of American talent here to keep us on the edges of our seats. For starters, Jenny Barringer-Simpson runs another 1500, as she continues to race under-distance to sharpen up for later in the summer. Molly Huddle will do the same, running a 1500 for the first time this season. Will Simpson or Huddle be quick enough to compete for the win. Brie Felnagle, Treniere Moser, Anna Pierce (2:01 last week over 800) and Morgan Uceny round out the group of Americans who could be competing up front. Sally Kipyego has been burning up the track this outdoor season, and ran a 4:06 solo at Hayward Field in April. Can she run a 4:01 to 4:02 with some competition? Perhaps. With Simpson, Huddle, Kipyego and Pierce battling it out we have women with varied strengths competing over their non specialty distance. This makes for a very interesting race. 

Men's 5000

Bernard Lagat looked sharp last week at Prefontaine, sitting patiently as always just off the leaders. He unleashed a furious kick with 100 meters left, pulling away from a terrific 2-mile field that featured several sub 3:50 milers. He moves up to his race distance here, competing against an outstanding field comprised of top Ethiopians and Kenyans. Isaiah Koech of Kenya(#2 in the world) and Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia (#4) could be favorites to give Lagat a run for the win, and never count out Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia. Luckily, world leader Imane Merga of Ethiopia isn't there to mess things up, as he was a trainwreck in last week's 10,000 at Pre, pushing and shoving runners all over the track en route to his second-place finish.

100 Hurdles

Americans Lolo Jones and Kellie Wells battle again, as Wells beat Jones in Doha to post the fastest time in the world so far this season. Jones and Perdita Felician of Canada (fastest non-American in the world) will be hungry to dethrone Wells as fastest hurdler in the world. Should be a fun matchup, as the only top American missing is Danielle Carruthers (#2 in the world).

Women's 200

Allyson Felix looked great in Rome, running the fastest 400 of the year and becoming the only woman to break 50 in 2011. Last week, however, she looked rattled in Eugene. She looked to false start (but was allowed to run), and looked drained down the stretch, looking like a different runner than we're accustomed to seeing. She returns to her specialty here, against a field that includes Jamaican greats Sherone Simpson and Shelly-Ann Fraser, as well as Bianca Knight and Charonda Williams of the US.

Other things to watch...

Although the women's 400 is not a Diamond League event, we could still potentially see a sub 50, as Francena McCorory, Kaliese Spencer, Shana Cox and Monica Hargrove all have lifetime 50 point PR's. Khadevis Robinson is racing the 800 again, one week removed from looking like the American to beat at the Pre Classic. Will he run a 1:43 or 1:44?

For more information about the meet, visit adidas Grand Prix website. Join Flotrack for videos and interviews from the adidas Grand Prix 2011 this year in June.