Anybody’s Game in Tyson men’s 400H

INDIANAPOLIS - Requiring the speed of a sprinter and the endurance of an 800-meter runner, the 400-meter hurdles is often considered the most taxing event on the track. The tax man doesn't have anything on America's best hurdles specialists, though. Team USA has a history of excelling in the event, and the crop of athletes who'll take to the track at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike Carroll Stadium is among the deepest ever.

Two-time defending U.S. champion and overall Visa Champion Kerron Clement and 2005 world champion Bershawn "Batman" Jackson have see-sawed for #1 status in the hurdles the last few years, but they are not alone. James Carter and Kenneth Ferguson are among several talented hurdles who also will vie for the championship.

Clement burst on the scene in 2005 when he broke Michael Johnson's indoor world record in the 400 dash with a time of 44.57 seconds. Since then, his speed and pure talent have made him a world-record threat, even if at times his form suffers. At the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships, Clement was nothing short of stunning with his personal-best time of 47.24, which made him the first Visa Champion as the top performer of the Visa Championship Series.

It is Jackson, however, who has the world title, the #1 U.S. ranking, and the 2005 #1 world ranking to his credit. A former U.S. indoor 400m champion, Jackson stands 5-8 in contrast to Clement's 6-2. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in heart. With fantastic finishing speed, Jackson won his world title in a downpour in Helsinki, Finland, setting a personal best with his time of 47.30. He has finished as USA runner-up behind Clement the last two years, and you can be sure he is hungry for the win.

Don't look past Carter, the World Outdoor silver medalist and twice the fourth-place finisher at the Olympics who has a personal best of 47.43. More to the point, he's coming off a win at the Reebok Grand Prix on June 2. Young Kenneth Ferguson, the 2003 USA junior 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles champion, has made a name for himself this year, winning the adidas Track Classic with a personal-best time of 48.15. 2000 Olympic gold medalist Angelo Taylor is making a comeback as well.

FAST FACTS

World record: 46.78, Kevin Young, 1992

American record: 46.78, Kevin Young, 1992

Meet record: 47.03, Bryan Bronson, 1998

Time schedule: 1^st round 5:25 p.m. Thursday; semifinals 7:45 p.m. Friday; final 2:18 p.m. Saturday

DID YOU KNOW? ...

* National Track & Field Hall of Famer Edwin Moses won 107 consecutive final races in the 400 hurdles from September 2, 1977 until June 4, 1987.

* When Jackson and Carter went 1-2 in the hurdles at the 2005 World Championships, it was the first time that happened since Moses and Danny Harris went 1-2 in 1987.

* Americans won every Olympic gold medal in the men's 400 hurdles from 1976 through 2000, except for the boycotted year of 1980.

* Athletes must negotiate 10 hurdles, set 36 inches high, during the race. They take anywhere from 12 to 15 strides between hurdles.