Powerhouse, full fields announced for U.S. Open

NEW YORK ‰ÛÒ Madison Square Garden
will host perhaps the best and deepest fields it has seen in several
years as the 2012 Olympic track & field season kicks off in earnest
with the U.S. Open Track & Field event on Saturday, January 28.

Full fields for the meet were
announced by USA Track & Field on Tuesday and indicate that Bernard Lagat will
be busy trying to win a ninth mile title in the Garden; the men‰Ûªs high
jump adds American depth; and the sprints and hurdles are even more
stacked with talent than they were a  week ago.

Stars such as David Oliver,
Veronica Campbell-Brown, Asafa Powell, Jesse Williams, Nesta Carter,
Christian Cantwell, Adam Nelson, Dawn Harper, Kellie Wells, Tiffany
Ofili Porter, and Jenn Suhr all have been announced previously.

The inaugural edition of the U.S.
Open is the first event of USATF‰Ûªs Visa Championships Series and will be
held in the newly renovated Garden. The first major professional meet
in the United States to kick-off the 2012 Olympic year, it will be
broadcast on Sunday, January 29, from 7-9 p.m. on ESPN2.

Lagat faces challenge in mile; top jumpers on tap
The winner of a record eight
Wanamaker Miles at the Garden, Lagat will have no free pass to a ninth
Garden win. At the U.S. Open, he will take on 2011 World Outdoor 1,500m
runner-up and 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Silas Kiplagat of Kenya, two-time World Indoor silver medalist Daniel Komen Kipchirchir of Kenya, and Henok Legesse of Ethiopia, who owns a mile personal best of 3:54.81.

In the men‰Ûªs high jump, world
champion Williams will take on 2010 World Indoor bronze medalist Dusty Jonas, 2004 Olympic fourth-place finisher Jamie Nieto, and 2007 USA Outdoor champion Jim Dilling.

More fireworks in sprints, hurdles
The defending World Indoor champion,
Campbell-Brown will have her hands full in the women‰Ûªs 50 meters with
reigning U.S. indoor champion Alexandria Anderson and Bianca Knight,
who led off Team USA‰Ûªs gold-medal winning 4x100m relay at the 2011
World Outdoor Championships. In the men‰Ûªs sprint, 2010 USA Outdoor
runner-up Trell Kimmons joins the field.

A man who has seen success at Madison Square Garden, Terrence Trammell replaces
Jason Richardson in the men‰Ûªs 50m hurdles. The 2009 and 2010 Millrose
Games hurdles champion, Trammell is a two-time World Indoor champion in
the hurdles and is the defending World Indoor silver medalist. Also
mixing it up will be 2011 U.S. Outdoor runner-up Aries Merritt.

In the men‰Ûªs 600 yards, 2005 World Outdoor 400m hurdles gold medalist Bershawn Jackson and Trinidad‰Ûªs Renny Quow will
renew their Garden rivalry. Jackson won the 600 yards at the 2007 and
2010 Millrose Games at the Garden, while Quow was the champion in 2009
and 2011.

Other top athletes announced
Wednesday include World Junior champion and 2011 USATF Youth Athlete of
the Year Ajee Wilson in the women‰Ûªs 800 meters, Anna Pierce in the women‰Ûªs mile, Ginnie Crawford in the women‰Ûªs 50m hurdles, Greg Nixon in the men‰Ûªs 500 and Monica Hargrove
in the women‰Ûªs 500 yards. A student at the Neptune Academy of Allied
Health and Science on Monmouth, N.J., Wilson looks to follow in the
Madison Square Garden footsteps of a fellow Jersey Girl, the legendary Joetta Clark-Diggs, whose high school records Wilson broke in 2011.

Athlete Fields, 2012 U.S. Open
Fields as of January 17, 2012; subject to change

Men‰Ûªs Events
50 meters: Trell Kimmons (USA), Kimmari Roach (JAM), Asafa Powell (JAM), Justin Gatlin (USA), Daniel Bailey (ANT), Nesta Carter (JAM)
600 yards: Bershawn Jackson (USA), Renny Quow (TRI), Greg Nixon (USA), Tabarie Henry (UVI)
Mile: Bernard Lagat
(USA), Silas Kiplagat (KEN), Henok Legesse (ETH), Daniel Komen
Kipchirchir (KEN), Anthony Famiglietti (USA), Matt Elliott (USA)
50-meter hurdles: Aries Merritt (USA), David Oliver (USA), Terrence Trammell (USA), Jeff Porter (USA), Dwight Thomas (USA), Omo Osaghae (USA)
Shot Put: Christian Cantwell (USA), Adam Nelson (USA), Ryan Whiting (USA), Cory Martin (USA)
High Jump: Jesse Williams (USA), Dusty Jonas (USA), Jamie Nieto (USA), Jim Dilling (USA)

Women‰Ûªs Events
50 meters: Bianca Knight
(USA), Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), Alexandria Anderson (USA), Tehesia
Harrigan (IVB), Jessica Young (USA), Gloria Asumnu (NGR)
500 yards: Monica Hargrove (USA), Jasmine Chaney (USA), Keshia Baker (USA), Davita Prendergast (JAM)
800 meters: Ajee Wilson (USA), Fantu Magiso (ETH), Jessica Smith (CAN)
Mile: Anna Pierce (USA), Stephanie Garcia (USA), Lauren Hagans (USA), Brenda Martinez (USA)
50-meter hurdles: Kellie Wells (USA), Lolo Jones (USA), Dawn Harper (USA), Tiffany Porter (GBR), Nia Ali (USA), Ginnie Crawford (USA)
Pole Vault: Jenn Suhr (USA), Becky Holliday (USA), Jillian Schwartz (ISR), Lacy Jansen (USA), Mary Saxer (USA), Janice Keppler (USA)

About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the
National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running
and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s
oldest organized sports, the World’s #1 Track & Field Team, the
most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high
school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in
the United States: www.usatf.org.