Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Team USA ready to compete at World Championships in Berlin

Reigning world champions Tyson Gay, Bernard Lagat, Allyson Felix, Jeremy Wariner, Kerron Clement, Michelle Perry, Reese Hoffa and Brad Walker will lead a potent Team USA roster at the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships. USA Track & Field on Tuesday announced the Team USA roster for the 12th edition of the Championships, which will be held August 15-23 in Berlin, Germany.

This will be the first time Team USA has returned to Berlin for a major international championship competition since the 1936 Olympic Games, where National Track & Field Hall of Famer Jesse Owens won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump.

"These World Championships are special to us for many reasons," said USATF CEO Doug Logan. "It is Team USA's chance to come back strong in the post-Olympic year, and it is an opportunity to honor the incredible legacy of the great Jesse Owens. We feel our team roster will represent the United States well on both counts."

At the most recent World Outdoor Championships in 2007 in Osaka, Japan, Team USA tied the all-time World Championships record for gold medals with 14, matching its feat from 2005, and tied the American all-time medal tally at a World Outdoor Championships with 26. In Osaka, Team USA led a medal table in which a record 46 countries won medals. When Team USA last won 26 medals at a World Outdoor Championships in 1991, just 29 countries appeared on the medal table.

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