Men's relay pools announced for Edmonton

Maurice Greene and Antonio Pettigrew will lead Team USA in defending its 1999 World Championships men's relay titles at the 2001 IAAF World Outdoor Championships next month in Edmonton, Canada.

The men's relay pools for the World Championships were announced Wednesday by USA Track & Field. The men's lineups (subject to change) are:

4x100-meter relay: Maurice Greene (Granada Hills, Calif.), Bernard Williams (Los Angeles), Tim Montgomery (Norfolk, Va.), Dennis Mitchell (Gainesville, Fla.), Curtis Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.), Shawn Crawford (Clemson, S.C.), Jonathan Carter (Miramar, Fla.) and J.J. Johnson (Dallas, Tex.).

4x400-meter relay: Antonio Pettigrew (Raleigh, N.C.), Angelo Taylor (Atlanta), Leonard Byrd (Raleigh, N.C.), Jerome Young (Raleigh, N.C.), Derrick Brew (Baton Rouge, La.), Andrew Pierce (Columbus, Ohio), Thomas Gerding (Waconia, Minn.) and Geno White (Gainesville, Fla.).

Greene, a two-time 100m world champion, Olympic gold medalist and the 100m world record holder, will join Bernard Williams and Tim Montgomery after all three won gold medals in the 4x100m relay at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

The 1997 World Championships 100m bronze medalist and 2001 U.S. 100m champion, Montgomery ran the second leg of the gold medal winning U.S. 4x100m relay at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. Greene ran the anchor leg as Team USA won the gold in 37.59. Montgomery equaled the third-fastest time ever in the 100 meters by running 9.84 seconds in Oslo, Norway last week.

After his fourth place finish at the GMC Envoy USA Championships last month in Eugene, Dennis Mitchell returns to the national 4x100m team after winning Olympic relay gold in 1992, silver in 1996 and world titles in 1991 and 1993. A two-time world outdoor championships 100m bronze medalist, Mitchell won the bronze medal in the 100m at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Curtis Johnson was also named to the relay pool, and will run the open 100 meters in Edmonton after his third-place finish at Nationals in10.01. 2001 U.S. 200m champ Shawn Crawford, who finished fifth in the 100 meters in Eugene and is the 2001 World Indoor champion at 200m, is also on the relay squad, along with newcomers J.J. Johnson and Jonathan Carter, who finished 7th and 8th respectively last month at Nationals.

1991 world 400m champion Antonio Pettigrew will lead the men's 4x400m squad in Edmonton after winning his fifth U.S. Outdoor title last month in Eugene. A two-time world 4x400m champion, Pettigrew added an Olympic relay gold medal to his trophy case last year in Sydney.

Pettigrew will be joined by double Olympic gold medalist Angelo Taylor. Taylor won the 400 hurdles in Sydney and came back to run the first two rounds of the 4x400 to win relay gold. Possessing great speed, Taylor was part of the 4x400 team that won the 1999 world title in Seville.

Also on the relay pool is Jerome Young, who won gold on the U.S. 4x400m relay squad at the 1997 World Outdoor Championships and at the 2000 Olympic Games. A two-time U.S. outdoor 400m champ, Young is joined by Leonard Byrd, who placed second in Eugene (45.26), and won a gold medal on the U.S. 4x400m relay team at the 1995 World University Games. 1999 World University Games 4x400m relay gold medalist Derrick Brew is also in the pool after placing fourth in the 400m in Eugene in 45.35. Additional 4x400m relay pool members include recent Ohio State graduate Andrew Pierce, who placed fifth in Eugene (45.42), University of Minnesota grad Thomas Gerding (6th-45.79) and 2001 University of Florida graduate Geno White (7th-45.80).

Indy hosts Throws Summit

A Throws Summit featuring a clinic and a competition featuring many of Team USA's finest athletes will take place July 22-23 in Indianapolis.

A clinic will be held on July 22 featuring Olympic shot putter and discus thrower Ramona Pagel, four-time Olympic hammer thrower Jud Logan and coaches Kent Pagel and Criss Somerlot. 2000 Olympic shot putter Andy Bloom will also participate in the clinic.

Elite competitions will take place on both days of the Summit. Featured athletes include 2000 Olympian and five-time U.S. outdoor women's hammer throw champ Dawn Ellerbe, 2000 Olympic discus thrower Kris Kuehl and 1996 Olympic javelin thrower Erica Wheeler.

Two-time Olympian and 2001 U.S. men's hammer throw champ Kevin McMahon will also compete in Indy, along with three-time world championships shot put competitor Kevin Toth.

For more information on this event, visit the "Events" section on the USATF Web site at: www.usatf.org -- then click Summer Classic Competitions.

Junior Olympics credential information

Media planning to cover the 2001 USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., July 24-29, should fax a request on company letterhead to the USATF office by 5:00 p.m. Friday July 20. Send your fax to the attention of Melissa Beasley at (317) 261-0513. Credentials may be picked up at the track.

The 35th annual USATF Junior Olympic National Championships, the third and final stop of the Verizon Youth Series, will be webcast live daily from www.usatf.org.

Clark, De Reuck enter New York City Marathon

2000 Olympic marathoner Christine Clark and Colleen De Reuck will compete at the 2001 New York City Marathon, which will also serve as the USA Men's and Women's National Marathon Championships.

Race Director Allan Steinfeld made the announcement on Tuesday, adding that 2000 NYC Marathon top-10 finishers Kim Pawelek and Susannah Beck will also compete in this year's race on November 4.

Clark bettered her personal best by more than seven minutes in winning the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials in Columbus, South Carolina in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 31 seconds. The only U.S. participant in the women's marathon at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Clark finished 19th at the Games in 2:31:35.

De Reuck, a recently naturalized American citizen, is returning for her third NYC Marathon. Her best showing in N.Y. was in 1997 when she finished second.

More than $100,000 in prize money and race incentive bonuses is being offered exclusively for the USA National Championships, with $15,000 going to the men's and women's winners. American runners will also be eligible to compete for the general marathon prize money pool of $514,000. If an American wins either the open men's or women's races, the first-place prize of $80,000 will be doubled.