USA Track & Field's Golden Spike Tour has featured some thrilling performances in the early stages of competition. In the opening event May 14, the Adidas Oregon Track Classic in Portland, it was the hurdlers who took center stage.
Larry Wade topped the men's field in the 110-meter race with a 13.38 time into a slight headwind. In the women's 100-meter race, Anjanette Kirkland crossed the finish line first in 12.91 to edge U.S. No. 1 Melissa Morrison. Other top performances at the meet included a victory in the 400 by Antonio Pettigrew (44.91) and a first-place finish for Connie Price-Smith (61-11) in the women's shot put.
On the second stop of the Golden Spike Tour May 22 - the U.S. Open IAAF Grand Prix track and field meet at Southern Illinois University's - three world-leading marks for 1999 were set. Poland's Anna Jakubczack turned in the top women's 1500 time of the season with a 4:08.77. She turned back Cheri Kenah, who had the year's best U.S. time at 4:09.33.
Price-Smith and Wade continued to shine. Price-Smith took over the women's world lead for '99 with a winning throw of 62-8 ½ while Larry Wade matched his own world-leading time of 13.22 to beat a stellar men's 110-meter hurdles field.
"It's always great to come home," Price-Smith said. "I'd really like to PR this year, and that's possible. ... I'm really focusing on peaking three times this year. I need to be at my best at the national championships, at the world championships in Seville (Spain) and at the Grand Prix Final."
In other highlights, World record holder Kim Batten won the women's 400-meter hurdles in a U.S.-leading 54.52. Tyree Washington took .01 off his personal best in the 200, winning the race in 20.09.
Jeff Hartwig, 1998's world No. 2 in the pole vault, cleared 19-0 1/4 in a winning effort.
The Golden Spike Tour is a series of five major U.S. track and field meets featured on network television each weekend from mid-May through the end of June. The TFA Pro Championships are the third leg of event and will be June 6 in New York; the Pontiac Grand Prix Invitational in Raleigh, N.C., is June 12. The series ends with the USA Outdoor Championships, June 24-27 in Eugene, Ore.
USATF and its sponsors are investing more than $3 million in the five meets with more than $1 million going to athletes in prize money and appearance fees.
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