101st Annual Millrose Games

The 101st Millrose Games once again attracted track & field enthusiasts to Madison Square Garden as fans came to watch Olympic-caliber stars, top college and high school athletes and some of the city's youngest speedsters compete in various events. American Bernard Lagat stole the show as he outpaced Craig Mottram for the second consecutive year en route to winning his sixth Wanamaker Mile title. Adam Nelson, named the Outstanding Athlete of the event, uncorked a meet record 72’5” toss on his final shot put throw to beat Christian Cantwell and reigning world indoor and outdoor champ Reese Hoffa.

The Millrose Games was first hosted at a local armory in 1908. Due to its overwhelming popularity, the meet moved to Madison Square Garden in 1914. Since then, it has become the longest running sporting event held at the Garden. The Millrose Games have touched generations of sports fans, uniting them in a yearly ritual that has hosted the greatest names in track & field history, among them Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Eamonn Coghlan, Mary Slaney and Carl Lewis.
In the 101-year history of the Millrose Games, a remarkable 88 world records have been tied or set and 122 Millrose winners have been Olympic gold medalists. The Games featured men’s and women's sprints, hurdles, middle-distance races, pole vaulting, men’s shot put, invitational high school and collegiate races and the famed Wanamaker Mile.

The signature event of the Millrose Games is the historic Wanamaker Mile. The prestigious list of long distance runners who have won the event throughout the 81 year history of the Wanamaker Mile includes James Connolly (4:17.2), Glenn Cunningham (4:11.0), Ron Delany (4:04.6), Kip Keino (4:03.9) and Eamonn Coghlan (3:53.0).

Additionally, the Millrose Games featured the “Fastest Kid in New York” competition and the high school boys and girls one mile races. The NYRR’s “Fastest Kid in New York” competition -- a 50-meter dash showcasing the fastest 7 & 8 year-old boys and girls in New York City – included participants who qualified for the competition after competing in a series of preliminary events with the top runners advancing to the finals in Madison Square Garden.

Event Highlights

Boys & Girls H.S. Mile
Kyle Merber of Half Hallow Hills West HS (Dix Hills, NY) won the Boy’s mile in a time of 4:13.86. He defeated Bobby Andrews, Charles White, and Doug Smith who all finished within two seconds of Kyle. Jillian Smith of Southern Regional HS (Manahawkin, NJ) comfortably won the girl’s mile as she outpaced the competition by five seconds.

Mel Sheppard 600
American Bershawn Jackson, the 2005 world outdoor 400-meter hurdles champion, won the Mel Sheppard 600 in 1:10.34. Khadevis Robinson, the reigning US outdoor 800m champion, finished second in 1:10.53 and Jamaica's Michael Blackwood took third in 1:11.88.

Women’s 60 meter hurdle
Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep won the 60-meter hurdles in a speedy 7.95 seconds. She defeated fellow Canadian and world champion Perdita Felicien by mere .1 seconds. American Damu Cherry finished in third place.

Pole Vaulting Results
Jill Schwartz pulled off the biggest upset of the meet, defeating U.S. pole vaulting record holder Jenn Stucynski on misses at 15-2 ½, while 2000 Olympic champion Stacy Dragila failed to clear the opening height. Tom Skipper defeated world champion Brad Walker to win the competitive men’s pole vault, clearing a height of 18’ 8 ¼”. Walker finished a disappointing fifth.

New York’s Fastest Kid Competition
Richard Anderson of the Zodiacs running club (Bronx) edged out Tyrese Wilcox of the Marble Hill Community Center (Bronx) in the boys 50-meter dash. Richard ran a time of 7.96 compared to Tyrese’s time of 7.98. In the girls competition, Zainab Sesay of PS 260 (Manhattan) proved herself the “Fastest Girl in NYC” by completing the 50-meter dash in 8.39.

For more information, please visit www.Millrose-Games.com.

Reese Hoffa, men's shot put winner - "Needless to say, the atmosphere out there was electric. They did a great job. From the moment I stepped out there on the track, I knew I had the possibility of going over 70, but I kept going too far too the left. It's one of my problems. So I thought, make an adjustment and do everything as my last throw. I put it together - I was amazed. I've had some troubles putting it together. Plus, it's my PR, so that was great."

Angela Daigle, winner, women's 60 meters - "It's so amazing. It was absolutely amazing. This was huge for me - I've never won anything in my elite career yet. I almost won last year, I got snipped at the line. So I wanted to come back this year and do well. Outdoors in the 100, I'm pretty much leading for the first 60 meters. That's a good opening time for me. Last year I opened with 7.24, so improvement is good."

Bernard Lagat, winner, Wanamaker Mile - "It was a great atmosphere today. The race was well-assembled. We had Laban Rotich and my great friend and competitor, Alan Webb. It was one of the greatest miles I've been in. We have people who are great, ready to run, and we showed that today. It was a great challenge. I wanted to have my own race plan. It's a good thing, knowing I'm going into my next race in a week. It's a confidence boost. [On the fast pace]: I felt strong. I told the guy, keep on pushing, keep on moving. That was good. I wanted to run [the record] because 3:52 is not easy. Breaking the record feels good and tells me that my training is good."

Click on the camera above to view pictures from the 2004 "Fastest Kid in NY" competition.