Media Room
Press ReleasesJune 7, 2005
Hurdles A Highlight At Jerome Meet
Blink, and you'll miss them.
Well, that may be a slight exaggeration but there is no doubt the hurdle events at the 2005 Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic will highlight the fast and furious nature, and international strength, of the discipline.
The women's 100-metre hurdles and men's 110-metre event will feature Canadian and Chinese competitors competing as part of the Pacific World Cup, presented by Paystone.com., in addition to other national and international entries in the respective race fields.
Canadian Olympian Angela Whyte will contest the women's 100-metre hurdles at the June 14 meet at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. At the 2004 Jerome meet Whyte, who completed her NCAA career in 2003 with 13 school records earned for the University of Idaho, finished third in 13.13 but used the event as a springboard to greater things later in the year. The 25-year-old runner from Edmonton clocked a personal best 12.69 in the 100 hurdles semi-final in Athens and went on to finish sixth in what her first Olympic experience.
Whyte recently made her 2005 season debut at the May 31 Payton Jordan US Open, finishing sixth in 13.34 seconds.
China's Zhang Rong, 22, comes into the event with a reported best of 13.35 seconds. The women's field also includes Ghanaian-born Ruky Abdulai, who is currently attending Simon Fraser University. Abdulai recently enjoyed an outstanding weekend at the NAIA championships in Kentucky, where she won the women's 100-metre hurdles (13.96 seconds), the triple jump and the long jump while also finishing tied for third in the high jump.
American Hyleas Fountain will be racing the women's 100 metre hurdles but she is far more than just a hurdles competitor. This 24-year-old from Athens, Ga., won the pentathlon at the US indoor championships and was fourth in the heptathlon at the 2004 US Olympic trials with a 6,035 personal best, and took second at the 2004 NCAA outdoor championships. She has a 13.11 best in the hurdles, earned in finishing fourth at the Southeast Conference championships
On the men's side, 20-year-old Liu Lilu comes to Swangard Stadium as one of China's most promising hurdlers and a likely prospect to represent his country when it plays host to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Liu finished fourth in the 110-metre hurdles final at the 2004 world junior track and field championships. In May he also ran a personal best 13.63 seconds in finishing second at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Liu will be challenged by Canadian national team members Karl Jennings and Jared MacLeod. Jennings, 26, won the 110-metre hurdles at the 2004 Jerome meet with a 13.73 effort and went on to finish second at the 2004 national championships. Earlier this year he ran a 13.52 in finishing fourth at Modesto. MacLeod comes to Swangard with a 13.74-second win at the 2005 Kansas City Relays. He finished fourth at the 2004 nationals in Victoria and in 2001 he represented Canada at the World University Games.
Dominique Degrammont, who was named to Haiti's Olympic team to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, comes into the Jerome meet with a recent 110 hurdles best of 13.62 , earned in finishing fifth at Mt. SAC. In 2003 he was an NAIA standout for Asuza Pacific, winning the 2003 NAIA national championship with a record 13.74 seconds, breaking the previous NAIA mark of 13.88 which had stood since 1982.
Any mention of speed at the Jerome meet must include recognition of the recent effort by Canada's Gary Reed, who rewrote his Canadian record in winning the men's 800 metres at the June 4 Prefontaine Classic meet at Eugene, Oregon. Reed won the race in a national record 1:44.82, improving upon his previous mark of 1:44.92. International rivals who finished in Reed's wake included runner-up Yuri Borzakovsky of Russia, the 2004 Olympic champion.
Reed will compete at the Jerome meet as a member of the Canadian 4x400-metre relay squad, which is looking to qualify for the 2005 world track and field championships in Helsinki.
The 2005 Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic is one of five events in the PacifiCanada Track and Field Series. The 22nd annual Harry Jerome meet goes June 14, 7 p.m. at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.
Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.
Media Relations/Accreditation:
Diane Clement
dclement00@hotmail.com or (604) 261-6220
General Information/Athlete information and inquiries:
Marek Jedrzejek (604) 822-6259 or marekj@interchange.ubc.ca
Doug Clement (604) 261-6220 / 837-1933 or dclement00@hotmail.com
