Joshua ‘J.J.’ Johnson and Anna Norgren Mahon, two of the top young athletes on USA Track & Field’s (USATF) Golden Spike Tour, will be among the favorites in their events when they compete at the 2002 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, scheduled for March 1-2 at the Armory Track & Field Center at 168th Street in New York City.

The fourth and final stop of the USATF’s Golden Spike Tour, the USA Indoor Championships return to New York for the first time since 1993. The Championships were first held in New York in 1888, resuming in 1906 and held primarily in New York from 1906 to 1993, at Madison Square Garden. The Championships were held in Atlanta from 1994-2001.

“The Armory is a mecca for track and field at the high school level. It’s nice to have such a big meet close to home,” said Norgren Mahon, a high school teacher in Woodbridge, Conn. “My students get a kick out of my involvement in the sport. In fact, I spent half a class period talking about it today. The best thing about being an athlete is they see they can relate to me on another level. If they say they don’t have time to do their homework because of athletics, I can throw it back at them.”

Norgren Mahon, the U.S. leader in the women’s 20-pound weight throw for 2002, is one of the up and coming hammer/weight throwers in the world. Earlier this year, she came within 4cm of Dawn Ellerbe’s world record in the women’s 20-pound weight throw when she won at the Verizon Millrose Games. Her mark of 23.56 meters/77 feet, 3.75 inches, is a world-leading mark as of February 13. In 2001, Norgren Mahon owned four of the top ten hammer marks in the U.S. outdoors and was runner-up to Ellerbe at both the U.S. Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

“My success is due to pretty much everything coming together,” said Norgren Mahon. “I made my first major international team last year for Outdoor Worlds. Sitting and watching the finals of the hammer and not being part of it resolved myself for where I want to go in track and field. I know I can compete with the best in the world. In the last six months things have really come together.”

Johnson, ranked #7 in the world at 200 meters by Track & Field News, continues to make a name for himself in track and field circles. He competed in the all three GST meets, winning at the third stop, the adidas Midwest Indoor Track Classic. A relative newcomer to the sport, Johnson has only been competitively running for the last two years, but has quickly made his mark. At the 2001 World Outdoor Championships, he won a 4x100m gold medal, running anchor leg in the rounds. He also posted the fastest 200m time in the world last year at 19.88 seconds. He looks forward to bringing that blazing speed to the Armory.

“I’m real excited because it is one of the fastest tracks in the world. I’m really excited to test my skills,” said Johnson. “I feel I have no limits. I can do anything. I have a real good coach (Dennis Mitchell) who is an expert at the sprints. He’s training me very well and keeping me very focused on it.”

The 2002 Indoor Golden Spike Tour puts athletes and track fans in a “New York State of Mind,” as USATF reinforces its strong presence in New York City, the indoor track capital of the country. The National Track & Field Hall of Fame will reopen in the Armory in 2003, while the 2001 USA Men’s and Women’s Marathon Championships were held last November at the New York City Marathon.

The 2002 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Sunday, March 3 from 4-5:30 p.m. Eastern. For complete information the 2002 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, visit our Web site, www.usatf.org.