Press Releases
Jan. 16, 2004 -
MARION JONES HEADLINES WORLD-CLASS FIELD; FIRST RACE AFTER BIRTH OF SON
NEW YORK, N.Y., -- She's back! The world's sprint queen, Marion Jones, will re-enter the arena of world-class track and field competition at the 97th Verizon Millrose Games on Feb. 6 at Madison Square Garden. It will be Jones' first race since giving birth to her son in June 2003, her first return to the starting line since winning the World Cup 100-meter title in 2003, her first indoor competition since 1998 and her first Millrose Games appearance ever.
Held annually since 1908, the Verizon Millrose Games is the nation's longest running invitational track meet, the Garden's longest running sporting event, and a highlight of USA Track & Field's annual "Golden Spike Tour."
"The Verizon Millrose Games is the perfect place and time for me to return to competition and start my push for the Olympic Games," said Jones. "It's exciting to start my year on home turf at Madison Square Garden in New York City."
"We are thrilled to have Marion make the Verizon Millrose Games the launching pad for her return to competition and the first step toward ascending to the top step of the Olympic medal stand in 2004," says meet organizer Skip Stolley, Vice President of Running Events, Pro Sports & Entertainment, Inc. "We know that the fans at Madison Square Garden will give her the kind of welcome that can only be experienced in New York City."
Jones will be competing for $10,000 of first place prize money in the Women's 60-meter dash. Joining her in the starting blocks will be rising star Torri Edwards, who won silver and bronze medals in the 100m and 200m at last summer's World Championships; Angela Williams, a 2003 World Championships gold medalist in the 4x100meter relay; and 2003 High School Athlete of the Year Allyson Felix, who broke Marion's national high school and World Junior records in the 200 meters as a 17-year old senior at Los Angeles Baptist High School
Jan.12, 2004 -- Millrose Hall of Fame inductees are Johnny Gray, Joni Huntley, Billy Olson, Joie Ray
NEW YORK, NY -- Johnny Gray, a five-time Millrose Games 800m champion and four-time Olympian, headlines the Verizon Millrose Games Hall of Fame Class of 2004, to be inducted during the 97th running of the Verizon Millrose Games, Friday, Feb. 6. Gray will be joined by four-time Millrose high jump champion Joni Huntley, four-time Millrose pole vault champion Billy Olson, and seven-time Millrose Wanamaker 1 ½ Mile winner Joie Ray.
The Verizon Millrose Games Hall of Fame was instituted in 1999 to recognize the greatest performers in Millrose Games history who have retired from elite competition. Past inductees include Eamonn Coghlan, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Mary Decker Slaney.
The class of 2004 is:
Johnny Gray
A four-time U.S. Olympian and 800 meter bronze medallist at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Johnny holds the current American Outdoor Record of 1:42.60 (1985), the American Indoor Record of 1:45.00 (1992), and the Millrose Games record of 1:47.18 (1986). During his unprecedented 15-year career as a world-class 800m runner, he won seven USA Outdoor Championships, one USA indoor crown, and five Millrose Games titles. In 2001, at age 40 , he set a World Masters record of 1:50.70 in his last Millrose victory. He and his wife Judy have two sons.
Joni Huntley
Joni was a two-time U.S. Olympian in the Women's High Jump and the 1984 Olympic bronze medallist. Over an eight-year span she won four outdoor and four indoor national championships as America 's premier female high jumper. At Madison Square Garden , she set new American records in 1980 (6'4 ¼�) and 1981 (6'4 ¾�) en route to winning four Millrose Games titles. Joni was the impetus behind the Millrose Games reinstating the Women's High Jump in 1976 (which she won) after a 46-year absence from the meet. She is married to John Rueter and has two daughters.
Billy Olson
Billy was a 1988 Olympian who was the first person to vault 19-feet indoors, and also the first American to vault 19-feet outdoors. During his stellar career he won two USA Outdoor Championships, three USA Indoor Championships, four consecutive Millrose Games titles (1983-86), and set 11 world indoor records. In 1986, he became the first Millrose Games 19-foot pole vaulter during a memorable competition with Russia 's Sergey Bubka. He and his wife Stephanie have one daughter.
Joie Ray (deceased)
Joie was born in 1894 in Kankakee , Ill. At 5' 5� and 118 pounds, he became one of the most versatile runners of the 1920's, racing competitively at distances ranging from one mile to the marathon. He won 13 national titles during his career, including eight in the outdoor mile while representing the Illinois A.C. Joie was a superb indoor runner. From 1917-24 he won the Millrose Games' feature event�the Wanamaker 1½ Mile Run�seven times and broke the world record in three of those races. In 1925, Joie tied the world indoor mile record of 4:12.0. A member of three USA Olympic teams, he was eighth in the Olympic 1500m in 1920, a bronze medallist in the 3000m team race at the 1924 Games, and 14 th in the 10,000m and fifth in the marathon at the 1928 Games. Joie later became known for running a one-mile time trial every year on his birthday. At age 67, he recorded a more-than-respectable clocking of 6:32.6.
Jan.12, 2004 -- MEN'S SHOT PUT RETURNS TO GARDEN
NEW YORK, NY -- After a 15-year absence, the Men's Shot Put will return to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden for the 97 th annual Verizon Millrose Games on Friday, Feb. 6. Since 1990, the Millrose Games shot put competition has been held at Manhattan College.
This year's field consists of 2000 Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson, America's newest 70-footer, Christian Cantwell, the New York Athletic Club's Reese Hoffa, and 68'10" putter Jamie Beyer. Since 2000, Nelson has added the 2001 World Championships indoor/outdoor silver medals and a 2003 World Championships silver medal to his collection. Cantwell, a six-time All-American at Missouri, beat the world's best last summer in winning the 2003 IAAF Grand Prix Final. Hoffa is the 2003 Pan American Games Champion and record holder. Iowa State grad Beyer has added almost 7-feet to his personal best since 2000. In order, they have personal bests of 73' 10 1/4", 70' 11 1/4", 68' 8 3/4", and 68' 10 3/4".
"These four athletes rank among the top ten shot putters in the world, so we thought it was the right time to bring track & field's most explosive event back to the Garden," says meet organizer Skip Stolley. "It's going to be an exciting competition that will showcase some of our best prospects for Olympic medals next summer in Athens."
12/18/03 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST STACY DRAGILA RETURNS TO THE GARDEN TO TAKE ON �THE VAULT GIRLS'
NEW YORK , NY , DECEMBER 18, 2003 �Olympic gold medalist and American indoor/outdoor record holder Stacy Dragila will return to New York to take on the �Vault Girls� in the women's pole vault at the 97 th annual Verizon Millrose Games on February 6 at Madison Square Garden .
Dragila set a new American Indoor Record of `15' 5¾� at the 2003 Millrose Games. The �Vault Girls� are a 6-pack of Kellie Suttle, Mary Sauer, Mel Mueller, Jillian Schwartz, Tracy O'Hara, and Jill Starkey�ranked #2-7 respectively among American female pole vaulters. The vaulters are featured in a newly released Vault Girls 2004 Calendar�the proceeds from which is helping to support their training for the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer. Prior to the Verizon Millrose Games, they will be conducting a free Learn-By-Doing Pole Vault Clinic for high school girls at the New York Armory on Tuesday, February 3, from 4:00-7:00pm.
As for Stacy, the Verizon Millrose Games will be the launch of her 2004 campaign to repeat her gold medal winning performance at the 2000 Olympic Games. A former teenage rodeo star, she has been the �queen� of American pole vaulters since her debut in the event, winning five Verizon MIllrose Games titles, breaking American indoor/outdoor records nine times and world records five times .
�I love the Verizon Millrose Games and the Madison Square Garden crowd,� says Stacy. �I can't think of a better place to become history's first 16-foot female pole vaulter.�
9/18/03 PRO SPORTS ACQUIRES HISTORIC MILLROSE GAMES
NEW YORK, NY �Pro Sports & Entertainment Inc., an owner/operator of live entertainment events with offices in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, California, has acquired ownership of the Verizon Millrose Games�America's premier indoor track & field invitational. The 2004 Millrose Games will celebrate its 97 th edition on Friday, February 6 at New York 's famous Madison Square Garden . Televised nationally on both ESPN and NBC, it is the nation's oldest invitational track meet, the Garden's longest running sporting event, and a highlight of USA Track & Field's annual �Golden Spike Tour�.
�We are extremely pleased to partner with USA Track & Field, Verizon, and Madison Square Garden to assure the continued success of America 's preeminent invitational track meet,� says Pro Sports Running Division Vice President, Skip Stolley. �This year's meet will be a preview of America 's leading contenders for gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens , televised on NBC. It is also an opportunity for us to restore and showcase some of the unique traditions of the Millrose Games�including the great Cup Races that once defined indoor track in the United States .�
The Millrose Games has been a signature event in New York City since 1908. It has produced 87 world indoor records and 117 Millrose Winners have been Olympic Champions. Recent participants include 2000 Olympic gold medallists Maurice Greene, Jon Drummond, Nick Hysong, Stacy Dragila, and Chandra Sturrup. Other notable athletes who have participated in past Millrose Games include Jesse Owens, Mary Decker-Slaney, Renaldo Nehemiah, Carl Lewis, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Since 2002, Verizon, a leader in telecommunication services around the world, has been title sponsor of indoor track & field's most prestigious event.
�Pro Sports & Entertainment Inc. is excited about entering the U.S. Running Industry with the Verizon Millrose Games�one of the most prestigious events of every Track & Field season,� says PSEI President & CEO, Paul Feller. �We are looking forward to expanding our partnership with USA Track & Field. The new Mondo Track, which while built for Madison Square Garden , can be used for other indoor track meets which we will explore launching in 2005.�
Fast Facts about the Millrose Games
• There have been 87 world indoor records set at the Millrose Games.
• 117 Olympic gold medalists have been Millrose Games champions.
• 7 Olympic gold medalists from 2000 and 23 Olympians in all are scheduled to compete in 2004.
• 37 NCAA and USA National Champions are scheduled to compete in 2004.
• There have been 89 sub-4:00 miles run at the Millrose Games.
• The most prolific Millrose Games winner was USA Track & Field Hall of Fame sprinter Loren Murchison who won 13 sprint titles at 50, 60, and 70 yards and 300 meters between 1921 and 1926.
• The most prolific Millrose Games winner of a field event was Bob Richards (the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties Box) who won 11 pole vault titles between 1947 and 1958.
• The tradition of singing our national anthem at sporting events began at the 1926 Millrose Games.
• Held annually since 1908, the Verizon Millrose Games is the nation's longest running invitational track meet and Madison Square Garden 's longest running sporting event.
• The most famous indoor sports arena is Madison Square Garden , but the present Garden above Penn Station is actually the fourth structure to bear that name. The first was a giant horse barn used by the New York & Harlem Railroad located at 26 th Street and Madison Avenue�a plot of land called � Madison Square .� The second was built in 1890 at the same location and resembled a Moorish castle. The third Garden was built on 8 th Avenue between 49 th and 50 th Streets. The present Garden at Two Pennsylvania Plaza opened in 1963 and cost $116 million�a staggering figure at the time.
• In 2003, for the first time ever, athletes will be taking their victory laps on the second- and third-floor concourses within the arena.
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