June 7, 2012

Jared Slinde
USA Track & Field
Communications Manager
Jared.Slinde@usatf.org

USATF legends to hit hardwood at 2012 Olympic Trials

Some of USATF’s greatest legends will swap venues at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., as they take part in the first USATF Legends of the Past Celebrity Basketball Game at Eugene South High School taking place Wednesday, June 27, at 7 p.m.

The game is only one of many special events held off the track in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, including a screening of Starting at the Finish Line: the Coach Buehler Story, which will precede the game at 5 p.m.

Olympic gold medalists scheduled to participate on the men’s side include: Charles Austin (1996, high jump), Mike Conley (1992, triple jump), Dan O’Brien (1996, decathlon), Al Joyner (1984, triple jump), Kevin Young (1992 400m hurdles), Quincy Watts (1992, 400m and 4x400 relay), Maurice Greene (2000, 100m and 4x100m relay), Jon Drummond (2000, 4x100m relay) and Harvey Glance (1976, 4x100m relay).

For the women, gold medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1988, heptathlon and long jump; 1992, heptathlon), Inger Miller (1996, 4x100m relay) and Diane Dixon (1984, 4x400m relay) are set to participate.

Scores of world and American-record setters and Olympic medalists are also on tap. The crowd at South Eugene High School will also see Willie Banks, Jeff Hartwig, Henry Marsh, Jack Pierce, Mark Crear, Tonie Campbell, Johnny Gray, Greg Foster, Renaldo Nehemiah, Mike Powell, Sheila Echols-Gross, Lavonna Martin-Floreal, Tonja Buford-Bailey, Sharrieffa Barksdale and Connie Price Smith, among other USATF alumni.

The game will be preceded by a screening of Starting at the Finish Line: the Coach Buehler Story at 5 p.m. Longtime Duke Coach Al Buehler has touched and enriched the lives of thousands of athletes including Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Carl Lewis. More information about the film can be seen here.

Tickets for the film screening and the game are $15 for lower level, $12 for upper level and all seats are general admission only. To purchase tickets, please contact South Eugene H.S. Coach/Athletic Director Dave Hancock.

Eugene South High School is located at 400 East 19th Avenue Eugene, Ore., 97401. The event will be webcast live on runnerspace.com.

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.