2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix: Kirani James VS Bershawn Jackson, Cantwell in Shot Return!, release, note by Larry Eder

Bershawn Jackson, 2011 World Champs, 400m hurdles, by PhotoRun.net

Kirani James, the 2011 World Championship gold medalist at 400 meters, in 2011, at the ripe old age of 19, also has the number three best time ever indoors over the 400 meters! Bershanw Jackson, aka Batman, is a threat over 400 meters, either flat or with hurdles. This time, the two titans of track will duel over 400 meters. Two laps around the Reggie Lewis Center’s 200 meter Mondo track, one of the fastest in the world. Add to that, the crowd at the 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, and you have a real race!

Christian Cantwell, 2011 World Champs, Shot Put, photo by PhotoRun.net

Christian Cantwell, the 2008 & 2010 World Indoor Champion, the 2007 silver medalist World Outdoors and 2009 gold medalist, Wolrd Outdoors, will be featured in the reconstituted Men’s shot put, not held at the Reggie Lewis since 2008. Cantwell, coming off surgery and no medal in Daegu, Korea this past summer, is a man who remembers all, and uses that frustration to throw menacingly far. He and his competitors will remind the fans at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Do not miss a moment. If you are within six hours, get there! Buy a ticket. If not, watch the live coverage!

BOSTON (Jan 10) – For sixteen years, New England track fans have
come to expect the world’s best middle distance and distance runners to
go head-to-head on the oval at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.  This
year those same fans will get an added treat.  On Feb. 4, the world’s
top long sprinter, Kirani James, will take to the track at 400m at the 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix , organizers announced today. Tickets for the 17^th annual Olympic-style event are on sale now at www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

Kirani James, from Grenada, is the 2011 IAAF World Champion at 400m and the world’s #1 ranked one-lapper by Track & Field News.   While primarily known for his outdoor success, James is the 3^rd
fastest man in history indoors at 400m.  Only a 19 year-old, James has
found success on both the junior and senior levels.  He was the 2009
IAAF World Youth Champion, the 2010 IAAF World Junior Champion and then
added an NCAA victory before claiming the Samsung Diamond League title
and his World Championship gold medal in 2011.  The first IAAF World
Champion in history from Grenada, James said, “2011 was a dream season
for me but I want to get started on 2012.  I hope for bigger and better
this year and can’t wait to get started in Boston.”

James will not have an easy time in his Boston debut.  Among his challengers will be Miami native Bershawn Jackson, the world’s top 400m hurdler in 2010.
Batman, as he is known, has flown around the track at the Reggie Lewis
Center in Boston before, most recently in 2010 when he won the 400m. 
While most accustomed to stepping over hurdles, Jackson also has four
IAAF World Championship gold medals as a member of the USA 4 x 400m
relay team in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and indoors in 2010. In the 400m
hurdles, Jackson is the Olympic bronze medalist from the Beijing Olympic
Games, the 2005 World Champion, and was the top ranked American in
2011.

The Men’s Shot Put has not been contested in Boston since 2008 but will make a big return with 2010 IAAF World Indoor Champion, Christian Cantwell, leading the charge.  Cantwell has four IAAF World Championship gold medals and an Olympic silver medal from Beijing in 2008.

The 17th-annual meet, the second stop in USA Track & Field’s Visa
Championship Series, begins at 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Reggie Lewis
Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College. Tickets and
meet Information can be found on-line at www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC.

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