News19 Apr 2008


Lagat, Rawlinson, Stuczynski join the star cast for Carson

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Bernard Lagat of the US wins his second gold of the champs in the 5000m (© Getty Images)

Two more reigning World Champions – Bernard Lagat of the USA and Australian Jana Rawlinson – and World Indoor Championships silver medallist Jenn Stuczynski have been added to the lineup for the adidas Track Classic on 18 May, organizers announced.

The adidas Track Classic is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 13-14 September in Stuttgart.

Lagat, already a two-time Olympic medalist, last year became the first man in history to win the 1500m/5000m double at the World Championships. Also the American Record holder at the distance, Lagat is the first American in history to win a World Championship medal at 5000m and the first to win an Olympic or World medal at 1500m since 1908. He will compete at 1500m in Carson.

Last year at the adidas Track Classic, Stuczynski thrilled the crowd when she broke Stacy Dragila’s American Record in the pole vault. Since then, the two-time US outdoor champion has become the first American woman to jump 16 feet (4.88m), tied for #2 all-time in the world, and jumped the same height as Russian Yelena Isinbayeva to win the silver medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia last month.

In Osaka last August, Rawlinson (formerly Pittman) won World Championships gold in the 400m Hurdles just eight months after giving birth to her first child. She also won the title in 2003, and is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist at the hurdles and the 4x400m Relay.

The three join 2007 World champions Tyson Gay, Jeremy Wariner and Allyson Felix, who were previously announced.

The adidas Track Classic will begin at 12:30 p.m. on 18 May at The Home Depot Center, on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, near Los ANgeles, and will be broadcast live on ESPN from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. PDT (4 p.m.-6 p.m. EDT).

Barbara Heubner for the IAAF

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