On February 1, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba will welcome the 101st Millrose Games to New York City. During its first 100 years, the Millrose Games hosted some of the all-time great track & field athletes including Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Carl Lewis, Eamonn Coghlan and Mary Decker Slaney. This year, a new century begins as the country's best high school, collegiate, and elite athletes come together to compete in the nation's oldest indoor track & field event. The 101st Millrose Games will begin at 5:40pm.

"For 100 years, the Millrose Games has brought together the world's top track & field athletes to compete on one of the sport's grandest stages -- Madison Square Garden," said Commissioner Podziba. "The excitement around the Games is emblematic of the passion New Yorkers have for track & field competition. With athletes such as Reese Hoffa, Bernard Lagat and Stacy Dragila set to compete, I am sure that this year's Millrose Games will build upon its already storied history."

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). In 2007, American Bernard Lagat (3:52.87) thrilled the crowd with his fifth Wanamaker Mile victory, closing in on the legendary Eamonn Coghlan's mark of seven victories. Lagat will return to defend his title against Australia's Craig Mottram, the runner-up in 2007. Lagat is a double 2007 world champion at 1500-meters and 5000-meters, the first man in history to win both events in the same year. Also challenging Lagat will be American distance star Galen Rupp and New Zealand's Nick Willis. Rupp, 21, holds the NCAA 10,000-meter record and is the 2007 US Outdoor Championship 10,000-meter runner-up.

In the 101-year history of the Millrose Games, a remarkable 88 world records have been tied or set and 122 Millrose winners have also been Olympic gold medalists. The Games will feature men's and women's sprints, hurdles, middle-distance races, pole vaulting, men's shot put, invitational high school and collegiate races, the famed Wanamaker Mile and the "Fastest Kid in New York" competition.

"The ink wasn't dry on stories about the 100th Millrose Games before we started planning for the 101st," said Mark Wetmore, meet director and president of Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc. "We're especially excited at a Wanamaker Mile rematch between Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram. With both coming off big wins last weekend, the race should be spectacular. We've also added a few new high school and college races, with some great young sprinters from both the US and Jamaica. So, we look forward to a great crowd helping us to begin a new century of bringing the best track and field in the world to New York."

Headlining this year's talented field will be shot putter Reese Hoffa and pole vaulter Brad Walker. Both are reigning world champions and ranked #1 in the world in 2007 by Track & Field News Magazine. Hoffa is coming off the best year of his career, winning both indoor and outdoor World Championships in 2007 and notching the two longest throws of the year. Hoffa will be challenged by Adam Nelson, the 2005 world champion, and defending Millrose champion Christian Cantwell who last year set a Millrose Games record with a throw of 71' 9 ½". Hoffa and Cantwell are the #2 and #3 ranked shot putters in the world, respectively. 2007 Millrose champ and reigning world champion Brad Walker will defend his pole vault title against a talented field including 2004 Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson and 2008 National Pole Vault Summit champion Derek Miles.

Three other world champions on the Millrose Games roster are Bershawn Jackson, Perdita Felicien and Stacy Dragila. 2005 400-meter hurdle World Champ Bershawn Jackson will compete in the Mel Sheppard Men's 600 and 2003 100-meter hurdle World Champ Perdita Felicien will take on a talented field in the 60-meter hurdles. Stacy Dragila has long been one of the top pole vaulters in the world. Her lengthy list of accomplishments include the 2000 Olympic gold medal, nine US Outdoor Championships, eight US Indoor Championships, two World Championships and seven Millrose titles. After a two year absence due to injury, Dragila will challenge two-time US Outdoor Champ Jenn Stuczynski, who broke Dragila's outdoor American record last summer.

"No indoor track meet in the world can come close to matching the history of the Millrose Games," said USATF President Bill Roe. "The events and athletes change each year, but Millrose remains a one-of-a-kind extravaganza. The size of the crowd and the ambience of Madison Square Garden and New York City itself make it a signature event."

Additionally, the Millrose Games will feature 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 featuring the fastest 7 & 8 year-old boys and girls in New York City -- includes 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.

The Millrose Games were 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.

Tickets can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office or through Ticketmaster either by calling (212) 307-7171 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information about the 101st Millrose Games, please visit the Millrose Games website.

For more information on USA Track & Field, please visit the USA Track & Field website.

For more information about Global Athletics & Marketing, visit the Global Athletics website.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. The Sports Commission has played an integral role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep®, the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race, and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.