USATF.tv to air three live events this week, including 2015 USATF Half Marathon Champs
INDIANAPOLIS -- USATF.tv is providing more live content to racing fans across the country this week, as the NYRR Millrose Games Trials air live on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the New York City Gotham Cup at 12:45 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 16.
USATF.tv also has exclusive coverage of the 2015 USATF Half Marathon Championships, which will be webcast live on Sunday, Jan. 18 beginning at 7:50 a.m. ET.
Entries for the USATF Half Marathon Championships were announced last week, with last year’s men’s champion Meb Keflezighi returning to defend his title. 2014 USATF Women’s Half Marathon champion Serena Burla is competing in the women’s marathon in Houston this year.
The full indoor track & field and cross country TV/webcast schedules were announced earlier on Wednesday. For the full broadcast announcement from USATF, click here.
Qualifying standards and guidelines for the 2015 Pan American Games released
INDIANAPOLIS -- Qualifying standards and validity guidelines for the 2015 Pan American Games have been announced by USATF on Wednesday.
The Pan American Games will be held in Toronto in Summer 2015 and are the world’s third largest international multi-sport Games; they are only surpassed in size and scope by the Olympic Summer Games and the Asian Games.
The first Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951 and the inaugural Parapan American Games were held in Mexico City in 1999. Both the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are held every four years for the athletes of the 41 PASO member nations, in the year preceding the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.
Kaylin Whitney to forego high school track to focus on making 2016 U.S. Olympic team
CLERMONT -- Three-time World Junior Championships medalist Kaylin Whitney has decided to forego her final years of high school track to focus on putting herself in the best position to compete at the Olympic Trials and possibly making Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Whitney has opted to train full-time with her training group and will graduate early from high school in May 2015. Whitney was recently voted the standout performer at the IAAF World Junior Championships by USATF fans and accepted her award at the 2014 Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Whitney is the World Youth record holder in the 100 and 200 meters, running 11.10 and 22.49, respectively, at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon last July.
2014 IAAF World Junior Championships awarded CRS Gold status
EUGENE -- The six-day IAAF World Junior Championships, which attracted nearly 1,600 athletes from 167 different countries – all age 19 or under – was recently awarded Gold Level Certification by the Council for Responsible Sport (CRS).
In order to receive a “gold medal,” an event must earn 75 percent of the total available credits in meeting social and environmental criteria. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials also earned Gold Level Certification.
TrackTown USA earned credits via five basic metrics: planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity and community legacy. Each of those pillars helps strengthen the local economy, build future capacity for sustainable events and inspires people to develop active and healthy lifestyles.
One of the most innovative programs at the meet was the “We Can Sustainability Campaign,” which implemented the IAAF’s Athletics for a Better World initiative through fan engagement projects, including a sustainable scavenger hunt.
The IAAF World Junior Championships also earned credits by providing 100 percent renewable power; offsetting all local travel emissions; the TrackTown Youth Challenge in which 1,200 kids earned free tickets by running a mile; and the development of an online training guide for volunteers focusing on access, equity, diversity, inclusion and public safety.
Courtesy TrackTown USA