Carl Lewis to be part of AT&T USA Indoor Championships, support Hershey youth programs

BOSTON - National Track & Field Hall of Famer and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis will be an integral part of the festivities Saturday, February 24 at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, USATF and The Hershey Company announced Thursday. The final stop of USA Track & Field's Indoor Visa Championship Series, the meet will be held February 24-25 at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College in Boston.

Considered one of the sport's all-time greats, Lewis will serve as an official and greeter for the Hershey's 4x200 Youth Relay events, featuring USATF clubs and local schools, at the AT&T USA Indoor Championships.

In addition to winning four gold medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Lewis was a five-time Olympian, three-time world athlete of the year and was named Olympic Athlete of the Century. During his historic career, Lewis set 13 world records - including the still-standing world indoor long jump record of 8.79/28-10.25, set in 1984 - and 16 American records.

"USA Track & Field and our athletes have an unmatched history of competitive success," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "To have legends like Carl Lewis reconnect with our current fans and athletes is important to reinforce the continuity between the success of our past and that of our future. We eagerly look forward to welcoming Carl, and our friends from The Hershey Company, on Saturday."

An official sponsor of USA Track & Field, The Hershey Company earlier on Saturday afternoon will join Lewis to announce the kick-off of the 30^th anniversary season of Hershey's Track & Field Games, the largest youth program of its kind in the United States and Canada. Lewis and Hershey also will introduce to the press an instructional program designed to teach adults and children basic track and field skills. These skills teach the fundamentals needed for every sport and can even be applied to everyday activities.

Open to boys and girls ages 9-14, Hershey's Track & Field Games annually attract more than 400,000 participants in local, district, state and provincial meets held across North America. Hershey's Track & Field Games bring at least five finalists from each of the 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces and three Canadian territories to the North American Final Meet, which will be held August 2-5 at Henry Hershey Field in Hershey, Pa.

The AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships features hundreds of the country's top elite athletes as they compete for prize money - as well as $50,000 in bonus money - and national titles at the final stop of the Visa Championship Series. It is the finale of a 2007 indoor season that has seen records fall as Team USA athletes prepare for the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, held late this summer in Osaka, Japan.

For more information on the AT&T USA Indoor Championships, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAIndoorTFChampionships/

For more information on the Visa Championship Series, visit www.visachampionshipseries.com