byLarry Eder
Suhr, Cain, Centrowitz Coming Back to Boston
Record Try in Women’s DMR Also Set for New Balance Indoor Grand Prix
BOSTON, Mass. (Dec. 17, 2014)–Four more American stars who have graced an Olympic or World Championships podium–Jenn Suhr, Mary Cain, Matthew Centrowitz, and Brenda Martinez–have been added to the roster for the 20th running of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb. 7, organizers announced today.
Among the most-anticipated races of the evening will be an attempt at a World Best in the women’s Distance Medley Relay, an event featuring distances, in order, of 1200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, and 1600 meters that will be contested for the first time in meet’s 20-year history. Martinez, the 2013 IAAF World Championships bronze medalist at 800 meters, will be among the featured athletes on a Team New Balance squad, which will be challenged by teams from, among others, New Balance Ireland, anchored by Irish 1500-meter champion Ciara McGeean; the New Jersey-New York Track Club; Boston College; and Harvard University.
The current World Best for the women’s indoor DMR is 10:50.98, set at the 2009 NCAA Championships by a University of Tennessee team consisting of Phoebe Wright, Brittany Jones, Chanelle Price, and Sarah Bowman.
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix will kick off an indoor season in which Boston will be the epicenter of track and field in the United States, with the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College also set to host the USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships, from Feb. 27-March 1. Tickets for both events–including money-saving packages for the two meets–are now on sale at www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.
Jenn Suhr, the 2012 Olympic Champion and reigning World Indoor Record-holder in the pole vault, returns to one of her favorite venues, where the 32-year-old has set three American Records and will compete for at least the 13th time going back to 2005. That year, Suhr came to Boston as an unknown and left with her first of her 15 national titles and the first of her 11 victories so far at the Reggie. She has twice been ranked #1 in the world by Track & Field News magazine,
Mary Cain, 18, rewrote the record books in 2013 by breaking high school and/or U.S. junior marks at eight distances, and in 2014 won the U.S. indoor title at 1500 meters and the World Junior Championships crown at 3000 meters. Earlier this year, she broke her own World Junior Record for 1000 meters indoors at this meet when she ran 2:35.80 for the victory.
She will line up at 1000 meters again on Feb. 7.
Matt Centrowitz, eighth at the bell in the 2011 World Championships final, unleashed a long and devastating kick to win a bronze medal, becoming the first American male to win a major international medal at 1500 meters since Jim Spivey in 1987. In 2013, he moved up one place on the podium, earning a silver medal. In between, the U.S. middle-distance star finished just off the medal stand, in fourth place, at the London Olympics. Centrowitz, 25, will compete in the 1000 meters here.
The four American stars join previously announced Jenny Simpson, the 2011 World Champion at 1500 meters, in celebrating the 20th running of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, which has played host to seven World Records and 11 American Records. The second stop in the 2015 Indoor USATF Championship Series, the meet on Saturday, Feb. 7, will begin at 4:30 p.m.
About New Balance:
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is currently the only major shoe company that manufactures athletic footwear in the U.S.; in 2013, 1 out of every 4 pairs of shoes we sold in the U.S. was made or assembled here. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 4,000 associates around the globe, and in 2013 reported worldwide sales of $2.73 billion. To learn more about how New Balance Makes Excellent Happen, please visit www.newbalance.com.
