Track Nationals 2001

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Strong Day 1 at GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field Champs
6-21-2001

EUGENE, Ore. - Competing in ideal weather conditions in one of the sport's iconic venues, American athletes came through with terrific performances in the first day of the GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday at Hayward Field.

Maurice Greene and Jenny Adams were named the Xerox male and female athletes of the day, respectively. The two-time world champion, 2000 Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in his event, Greene ran a world-leading time of 9.90 in the fourth heat of the Pontiac Grand Prix men's 100m first-round races to set a Championships and Hayward Field record.

The 2001 NCAA Indoor champion and 2000 NCAA Outdoor champion for the University of Houston, Adams won her first U.S. title in the long jump Thursday with a winning performance of 6.71 meters/22 feet, 0.25 inches.

National titles were claimed Thursday by Kevin McMahon in the men's hammer throw (76.52m/251-00), Adams in the Xerox women's long jump, Seilala Sua in the women's discus (63.35m/207-10) and Abdi Abdirahman in the men's 10,000m (28:23.82).

Top qualifying performances on the day were turned in by Greene in the men's 100, World 200m champion Inger Miller in the women's 100 (11.09), Sarah Schwald in the women's 1,500m (4:18.34), Michelle Johnson in the women's 400m hurdles (55.87), Rebecca Bennion of Weber State in the women's 3,000m steeplechase (10:14.34), Calvin Harrison in the men's 400m (44.97), Bryan Berryhill in the men's 1,500m (3:40.47), and 2000 Olympic fourth-place finisher James Carter in the men's 400m hurdles (49.65).

After one day of competition, Gigi Miller of the University of Arkansas leads the women's heptathlon with 3720 points. Olympic Trials champion Tom Pappas, fifth at the Olympic Games, leads the men's decathlon with 4472 points but will not compete in all five events on Friday as he recovers from shoulder surgery last fall.

Below are notes from competition Thursday at the GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. For complete results and quotes, visit the USATF Web site: www.usatf.org.

Notes - GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday, June 21

* Tune in!: The men's 1,500m final, to be run at 6:50 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, will be shown live on ESPN's SportsCenter.

* Whew!: In qualifying rounds, Alan Webb extracted himself from a tight pack and recovered from a slight trip-up to win the first heat of the men's 1,500m in 4:45.77. A final 200m of just over 25 seconds propelled him to the win. 2000 Olympic Trials champion Gabe Jennings won the second heat in 3:40.80 and NCAA champion Bryan Berryhill won the second heat in 3:40.47.

* Olympian sweep: The top three finishers from the 2000 Olympic Trials men's 10,000m also swept the top positions in Eugene, but in different order. Running far ahead of the pack in a group of three throughout the race, Abdi Abdirahman - third at the Olympic Trials - won the race. He was followed by Olympic Trials champion Meb Keflezighi in second and Olympic Trials runner-up Alan Culpepper in third. . * The Xerox women's long jump competition featured perhaps the tightest competition ever in the event - for third place. Brianna Glenn of Arizona and two-time Olympian Shana Williams both had a best jump of 6.49m/21-3. Their second- (6.46m/21-3.25) and third-best jumps (6.43m/21-1.25) were also identical, so officials had to look at each athlete's fourth-best jump to determine third place. Glenn won out, 6.39m/20-11.75) to 6.31/20-8.5. * Push it: Paul McMullen, the 1995 U.S. champion and 1996 Olympic Trials champion who placed second in the second heat of the men's 1,500m to advance to Saturday's final, spent the time immediately following his race on a cell phone, helping his wife, Jill, to deliver the couple's first baby. McMullen could be heard shouting "push!" to Jill, a national-class 800m runner.

* Of Saturday's champions, Sua won her fourth U.S. title in the women's discus, Kevin McMahon won his second national title in the hammer (his first was in '97), and Jenny Adams and Abdi Abdirahman won their first crowns in the women's long jump and men's 10,000m, respectively.