USA Track & Field on Friday announced the team that will represent the United States at the IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, July 16-21. Prior to the IAAF World Junior Championships, Team USA will train in Nassau, Bahamas with teams from Saudi Arabia, Australia and the Bahamas, from July 10-13.

Comprised of 34 high schoolers and 32 collegiate athletes, the U.S. roster was selected at the 2002 U.S. Junior National Track & Field Championships, June 21-22, in Palo Alto, Calif. Leading the way is newly crowned world junior record holder (400mH) Lashinda Demus (South Carolina). She is joined by U.S. junior 400m record holder Sanya Richards (St. Thomas Aquinas HS), 2000 Olympic 4x400 relay pool member Monique Henderson (UCLA) and U.S. junior 10 km walk record holder Benjamin Shorey (Wisconsin-Parkside).

“These are our best junior athletes, and they’re among the best in the world,” said USATF CEO Craig Masback. “Future Olympians will be competing at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, and this an incredible opportunity for our most promising athletes to get a taste of world-class international competition.”

The World Junior Championships have been an introduction to international competition for many USA athletes. Several have gone on to enjoy Olympic Games success following their appearances at the IAAF World Junior Championships, including 25 athletes who competed at the Sydney Games in 2000. Previous U.S. participants at IAAF World Junior Championships include Marion Jones, Terrence Trammell, Adam Nelson, Amy Acuff and Suzy Favor-Hamilton.

Bill Whittaker, an assistant coach at Penn State, will lead the men’s team in Kingston, while Purdue University assistant coach Monica Gary will head the women’s team. The coaching staff also will include Olympic bronze medalist decathlete Chris Huffins, who now coaches at Georgia Tech, 25-time U.S. champion in the shot and discus and four-time Olympian Connie Price-Smith, and 1992 Olympian Bryan Blutreich.

The complete USA roster and World Junior Championships meet schedule is available on line at the USATF website, www.usatf.org, along with complete results and quotes from the 2002 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships.