INDIANAPOLIS – Two IAAF Grand Prix meets highlight USA Track & Field’s 2001 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour, announced Wednesday. The 2001 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour is part of a banner year for track and field in North America, with a full plate of world-class track and field on the track and on TV.

Sponsored by adidas, GMC Envoy, Visa, SoBe Sports System, and Pontiac Grand Prix, this year’s edition of USATF’s signature event features the strongest schedule of the Tour’s three-year history. Three nationally televised Golden Spike Tour meets lead up to the GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where Team USA’s roster for the 2001 World Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Edmonton, Canada, will be selected.

“With Grand Prix Tour status for two meets, the success of Team USA at the Olympics and the buildup to the 2001 World Championships on North American soil, this is an exceptionally exciting year for the Golden Spike Tour,” USATF CEO Craig Masback said. “2000 was a record-setting year for track and field in terms of attendance, and we have a chance to build on that success. With a full schedule this year, track and field will be on center stage through much of the summer.”

Many of the U.S. athletes who brought fans the most memorable moments of the 2000 Olympic Games will compete for significant prize money, in front of big crowds and before a national television audience as they head down the Road to Edmonton.

As a prelude to the Golden Spike Tour, the elite USATF outdoor season kicks off April 28 with USA vs. THE WORLD at the Penn Relays, a special event within the Penn Relays that pits Team USA’s top talent against relay teams from around the world. At USA vs. THE WORLD in 2000, the Marion Jones-anchored Team USA 4x200m relay broke a 20-year-old world record. Expanded sponsor backing has helped build upon last year’s successful event. In 2001, Nike, GMC Envoy, Visa, SoBe Sports System and Pontiac Grand Prix are contributing their support to the event.

The Golden Spike Tour gets rolling May 12 with the Princeton Invitational in New Jersey and continues June 3 with the adidas Oregon Track Classic (Grand Prix II) in Portland, Ore.; June 9 with the U.S. Open (Grand Prix I) in Palo Alto, Calif.; and June 21-24 with the GMC Envoy Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Athletes competing at Golden Spike Tour meets will be announced at a later date.

In addition to organizing the Golden Spike Tour, USA Track & Field is joining forces with the nation’s top relay meets in an effort to further elite athlete development. The Fresno Relays April 7; Kansas Relays April 18-21; Mt. SAC Relays April 20-22; Drake Relays April 27-28; and Modesto Relays May 12 all will receive Golden Spike Tour “satellite” designation and will put on events featuring America’s stars of the future.

“All of these relay meets are steeped in history and draw some of the biggest track and field crowds in the world,” Masback said. “We hope to keep the momentum of the last several years going on every level from high school to elite by covering the travel and housing costs of athletes in key events of these meets.”

The United States also is the site of a third IAAF Grand Prix meet with the Prefontaine Classic May 27 in Eugene, Ore. Now in its 27th year, the Prefontaine Classic is considered the premiere meet in the country, with international fields that typically feature numerous world record holders and gold medalists. Like the Golden Spike Tour, the meet has a national television audience.

A highlight of the summer TV schedule is a “Weekend of Track & Field,” which begins early on June 10. ESPN2’s broadcast of the adidas Oregon Track Classic begins the weekend at 12:30 a.m. ET Sunday morning – Saturday night on the West Coast. Broadcasts continue with two more meets Sunday afternoon, both on CBS: the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Open.

U.S. meets are not the only major international events that American audiences will get to see. ABC and ESPN will be broadcasting the World Championships, Aug. 3-12, the IAAF Golden League series and the IAAF Grand Prix Final, Sept. 9 in Melbourne, Australia. Many broadcast times are still being determined. Turner Network Television (TNT) will broadcast the Goodwill Games Sept. 4-7 from Brisbane, Australia.

USA Track & Field 2001 Outdoor Schedule, USA vs. THE WORLD and Golden Spike Tour

TV Times Subject to Change. All times Eastern. Check local listings.

Date       Event                       Location          TV Broadcast
April 28   USA vs. THE WORLD           Philadelphia      April 28, 5:30-6:30 p.m., ESPN2
May 12     Princeton Invitational      Princeton, N.J.   June 3, 4:30-6 p.m., ESPN
June 3     adidas Oregon Track Classic Portland, Ore.    June 10, 12:30-2 a.m., ESPN2
June 9     U.S. Open                   Palo Alto, Calif. June 10, 5-6 p.m., CBS
June 21-24 GMC Envoy Outdoor Champs    Eugene, Ore.      June 24, 3-4 p.m., CBS; 5-7 p.m., ESPN2

U.S. TV Schedule, 2001 Outdoor Track & Field

TV Times Subject to Change. All times Eastern. Check local listings.

Broadcast  Event                               Location          Time
TBA        Kansas Relays (event April 18-21)   Lawrence, Kan.    TBA, Sunflower Cablevision   
April 28   USA vs. THE WORLD @ Penn Relays     Philadelphia      5:30-6:30 p.m., ESPN2
May 27     Prefontaine Classic                 Eugene, Ore.      3-4 p.m., Fox Sports Net
June 3     Princeton Invitational              Princeton, N.J.   4:30-6 p.m., ESPN
June 10    adidas Oregon Track Classic         Portland, Ore.    12:30-2 a.m., ESPN2
June 10    NCAA Outdoor Championships          Eugene, Ore.      2-4 p.m., CBS 
June 10    U.S. Open                           Palo Alto, Calif. 5-6 p.m., CBS
June 21-24 GMC Envoy Outdoor Championships     Eugene, Ore.      3-4 p.m., CBS; 5-7 p.m., ESPN2
TBA        Golden Gala (June 29)               Rome              TBA, ESPN
TBA        Meeting Gaz de France (July 6)      Paris             TBA, ESPN
TBA        Exxon Mobil Bislett Games (July 13) Oslo              TBA, ESPN
TBA        Herculis Monaco (July 20)           Monaco            TBA, ESPN
Aug. 4     World T&F Championships             Edmonton          4-6 p.m., ABC
Aug. 5     World T&F Championships             Edmonton          2:30-6 p.m., ABC
Aug. 6-10  World T&F Championships             Edmonton          TBA, ESPN
Aug. 11    World T&F Championships             Edmonton          4-6 p.m., ABC
Aug. 12    World T&F Championships             Edmonton          4-6 p.m., ABC
TBA        Weltklasse Zurich (Aug. 17)         Zurich            TBA, EPSN
TBA        Memorial Van Damme (Aug. 24)        Brussells         TBA, ESPN
TBA        ISTAF ’01 (Aug. 31)                 Berlin            TBA, ESPN
Sept. 4    Goodwill Games                      Brisbane          5-11 a.m.; 9 p.m.-1 a.m., TNT
Sept. 5    Goodwill Games                      Brisbane          5-11 a.m.; 8-11p.m., TNT
Sept. 6    Goodwill Games                      Brisbane          5-11 a.m.; 8-11p.m., TNT
Sept. 7    Goodwill Games                      Brisbane          5-11 a.m.; 9 p.m.-2 a.m., TNT
TBA        IAAF Grand Prix Final (Sept. 9)    Melbourne         TBA, ESPN