Big prize money in Eugene

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/ ... ion=sports

A meet fit for the elite
By Curtis Anderson
The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, July 18, 2006
When the city of Eugene was awarded the right to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials back in October, the selection came with a few strings attached for the local organizing committee.
One of those strings was a pledge to stage an elite track and field meet at Hayward Field during the summer - a promise that comes due in just three weeks.
The event, which has been dubbed the "Road to Eugene '08," will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The tentative meet schedule calls for an estimated 20 events to be contested in roughly 2 1/2 hours from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
The date was carefully chosen because it doesn't conflict with any of the meets held overseas during the summer months. In fact, the Road to Eugene '08 falls right in the middle of the European track and field championships, and comes one day before the African championships.
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"It's a great window," said Vin Lananna, the Oregon director of track and field. "Clearly, this meet is in its infancy stages in terms of providing opportunities for U.S. athletes, but if there is a place where we can do it, it's here at Hayward Field."
Several top athletes have already committed to the meet, including 2006 U.S. champions such as sprinter Sanya Richards, high jumper Chaunte Howard, shot putter Adam Nelson, long jumper Brian Johnson, triple jumper Walter Davis and heptathlete Gigi Johnson.
The list of competitors is also expected to feature some of the world's best hurdlers, led by 2005 world champion Bershawn Jackson in the 400 hurdles, 1996 Olympic gold medalist Allen Johnson in the 110-meter high hurdles and 2005 world champion Michelle Perry in the 100 hurdles.
The men's pole vault field should be one of the finest ever assembled with 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack set to battle 2004 silver medalist Toby Stevenson, 2006 world indoor champion Brad Walker, 2006 national champion Russ Buller, 2000 gold medalist Nick Hysong, four-time U.S. champion Jeff Hartwig, 2004 Olympian Derek Miles and four-time NCAA champion Tommy Skipper of Oregon.
Other Olympians on the meet docket include Gabe Jennings in the 1,500, Adam Goucher in the 5,000, hurdler Terrance Trammell (who is entered in the 100), Ian Waltz in the discus, Erin Gilreath in the hammer throw, Amy Acuff in the high jump and Grace Upshaw in the long jump.

That's an impressive list of athletes who will compete for $200,000 in prize money. The payouts are $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, $1,000 for fourth, $750 for fifth and $500 for sixth.
In addition, the U.S. junior team - featuring Oregon's Rebekah Noble, the first freshman to win an NCAA title in the women's 800 meters, and Duck recruit A.J. Acosta in the 1,500 - will be given two slots in each event as it prepares for the World Junior Championships, Aug. 15-20, in Beijing.
"This meet is for the athletes and by the athletes," Lananna said. "I would like to change the visibility quotient, so to speak, for track and field in the U.S., and I believe that nothing would be better than if we could get into the sequence of what's going on in Europe during the summer.
"There are all sorts of athletes in Europe who can't get into the meets. There are just not enough lanes for them. We don't need a whole season - that wouldn't survive in the U.S. - but just a little window that sponsors and promoters would view as a worthwhile venture. I think it would be a great supplement and we could create the same type of excitement here as in Europe."
There have been a couple of false starts in the confirmation of some high-profile competitors.
USA Track & Field's Mike Conley, who is working to secure commitments from athletes for the first-time event, said sprinter Maurice Greene and hurdler Dominique Arnold are entered in the meet.
Not so fast, countered Emanuel Hudson, the sports agent who represents both athletes, as well as Allen Johnson.
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"Maurice will not run in any meet in Oregon this summer," Hudson said on Monday. "He just started training again after suffering a hairline fracture in his foot. He might be available to run during the latter part of the summer, and if so, it would be at a major competition in Europe or Asia, if at all."
Hudson added that Arnold is taking things on a "day-to-day" basis since setting an American record in the high hurdles last week, while Johnson is probably headed to Eugene to "knock the rust off."
Arnold, the former Washington State standout, clocked 12.90 seconds in finishing second to China's Xiang Liu at a meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. Liu is the world record-holder at 12.88, as both athletes broke Colin Jackson's previous mark of 12.91.
"This is all new territory," Conley said. "We are not paying these athletes standard appearance fees. There is no special treatment and that's different than what's been done in the past. At this meet, you get paid based on your performance."
The Eugene meet also is a benefit for the Professional Athletics Association (PAA), a newly formed union of track and field athletes. It is being established to create a retirement program for athletes and to ensure that minimum standards are maintained and athletes' rights are protected whenever they compete.
"The organization is still in its infancy," Conley said. "The message is not as widespread as it will be at this time next year. This meet is a kickoff for that, to help bring awareness to our athletes."

[rainbowgirl28]

Too bad it's only going to have men's pole vault. Eugene has two runways, seems like they could contest both at the same time.