INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field will offer $375,000 in prize money at the 2001 GMC Envoy Outdoor Track & Field Championships, CEO Craig Masback announced Thursday. The meet takes place June 21-24 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

USATF will distribute money for each individual Olympic event as follows:

1st - $3,500
2nd - $2,500
3rd - $1,500
4th - $500

"We are happy to announce this unprecedented funding structure for our national championships," Masback said. "The athletes that comprise Team USA are the most visible part of USA Track & Field. Supporting them in this manner, at our national championships, helps to provide even more incentive for our athletes as they compete for a spot on the World's #1 Team at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships, August 3-12 in Edmonton, Canada."

The prize money was made possible by a change in the USATF Athlete Support program, which includes prize money on the Golden Spike Tour and grants from the United States Olympic Committee.

"Our Athletes Advisory Committee challenged us to find ways to reward athletes immediately for their national championships performances," said Michael Conley, USATF Director of Elite Athlete Programs. "This prize money program pays qualifying athletes their athlete support dollars immediately, instead of six or eight months later, as in the past."

For a complete list of selection procedures for USATF National Teams in 2001 and prize-money structures for the international team meets in which they will compete - including the World Outdoor Championships, World University Games, Goodwill Games, Great Britain vs. USA vs. Russia, and Germany vs. USA Decathlon - visit the media section of the USATF Web site: http://www.usatf.org/media/