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| What: |
Reebok Grand Prix |
| When: |
Saturday, May 31, 2008 |
| Where:: |
Icahn Stadium (Randall's Island) |
The Reebok Grand Prix, one of the top international track & field events in the country and the third stop in USA Track & Field's VISA Championship Series, featured a preview of many Olympic match-ups that may take place at the Olympic Games later this summer in Beijing, China. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt electrified the crowd at Icahn Stadium posting a world-record time of 9.72 seconds in the men’s 100-meter dash.
Bolt’s match-up against reigning Reebok Grand Prix 100-meter champion Tyson Gay turned out to be the best race of the day. Bolt ran a 9.72, eclipsing the previous record by .02 seconds. Bolt’s previous best in the 100-meters was 9.76. Gay finished second with a time of 9.85 seconds. Bolt’s record is the first 100-meter world record set on American soil since Donovan Bailey set the mark at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown once again outpaced a strong field in the women’s 100-meters, posting a time of 10.91 seconds to continue her reign as 100-meter champion at the Reebok Grand Prix. It was the fastest women’s 100-meter time of 2008 thus far. American Marshevet Hooker came in second at 10.94 seconds, while fellow Americans Muna Lee (10.97), Lauryn Williams (11.13) and Allyson Felix (11.13) rounded out the top five.
American Wallace Spearmon won the men’s 200-meters, running the world’s second fastest time posted in 2008 (20.07). Maryam Jamal (Bahrain), the reigning 1500-meter world champion, won the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.42
In the men’s 3000-meter Steeplechase, Paul Koech of Kenya posted a scorching time of 8:01.85, defeating the field by almost a half-lap. The time was the fastest ever run on American soil.
American pole-vault record holder Jenn Stuczynski took first place with a mark of 15’ 9”. She then made three attempts at the world record, but narrowly missed on each attempt. Sanya Richards, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400-meter relay, won the women’s 400-meters with a time of 50.04 seconds, beating out 2nd place finisher Novlene Williams of Jamaica by over half a second (50.70).
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang was scratched from the 110 hurdles due to tightness in his hamstring.
Also among the highlights for this year’s race were several exciting high-school relays including a boys 4x800-meter, a boys 4x100-meter, a girls 4x400-meter and a boys 4x400-meter featuring teams from New York and Jamaica.
For more information about the Reebok Grand Prix, please visit www.ReebokGrandPrix.com.
For information from last year's event, please visit our 2007 page.
Last Updated On:
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |
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| 810 7th Avenue, 3rd Fl. New York, NY 10019 / Toll Free: 877.NYC.SPORTS |
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