The first stop on the 2000 Indoor Golden Spike Tour will serve more purposes for America's track athletes than an octopus has tentacles.
The series kicks off January 29 at George Mason University in Fairfax, which has been home to a major professional track meet for more than a decade, including the long-running Mobil Invitational and last year's Adidas D.C. Invitational.
The meat of the program will be sandwiched in a six-hour track and field meet comprised of high school, college, open and masters runners.
Some of the top names in track and field are scheduled to compete between 2:30 and 3:30 on a broadcast live on NBC.
While it is easy to focus on who will not be competing at George Mason and the rest of the series - the sports' two marquee athletes Michael Johnson and Marion Jones - the fact that quite a few of the sports big-name athletes have committed is somewhat surprising.
It is an Olympic year, but the 2000 Sydney Games are some nine months away, a lifetime in the life of a track and field athlete.
'The indoor track season this year is like spring training, when you have such a long season ahead with the Olympics coming at the latter end of September,' said Brad Hunt, an agent at the Denver-based Gold Medal Management.
The series also gives opportunity to lesser-known athletes to raise their profiles.
There will be five men's events and seven women's events on the program and each is filled with worthy competitors.
The one thing that the sports' governing body USA Track and Field, who owns the professional portion of the program, can count on in January and February is that its series is the only show in town. The rest of the series includes stops in New York City for Millrose, Fayetteville, Ark., Pocatello, Ind., and Atlanta for the nationals on March 4 and 5.
The five-meet series won't be extremely lucrative, but there is money and exposure that competitors can't find outside of Europe.
'I like the prize money orientation,' said Hunt, whose prize athletes include three Johnsons - 200/400 World record holder Michael, pole vaulter Lawrence and hurdler Allen, who is expected to headline today's 11 a.m. news conference at George Mason.
'The prize money benefits the up-and-coming athletes,' he continued. 'That's the way we should be compensating the majority of the athletes.'
Michael Johnson and Marion Jones command large appearance fees, but most of the rest of the sport's athletes fight only for prize money. At the D.C. Invitational, the prize money is: $4,000 for first, $2,500 for second, $1,500 for third, then $1,000, $600 and $400.
According to sources, athletes like 1996 Olympic gold medalist Allen Johnson, who is coming back from an injury plagued 1999, and the world's No. 2 ranked 100/200 sprinter Inger Miller, will receive appearance fees for coming to Fairfax. They also will get payment from USATF for committing to run in the series.
But Johnson and Miller are not the only star athletes coming to Fairfax in two weeks.
The 60-meters has Tim Harden (sixth-ranked in the world) and Jon Drummond (sixth-ranked American), the 800 has six of the top 10 ranked Americans led by Bryan Woodward, Khadevis Robinson and Rich Kenah, and the mile has three of the top six ranked Americans led by Matt Holthaus and David Krummenacker.
The 60-meter hurdles is loaded with Mark Crear (ranked first in the world), Larry Wade (third), Allen Johnson (fifth), Duane Ross (sixth), and defending champion Reggie Torian.
Headlining the women's events will be Inger Miller in the 60 meters, Jearl Miles-Clark (seventh in the world), Maicel Malone-Wallace and former area prep great Suziann Reid in the 400, superstar middle distance runner Regina Jacobs in the 800, Melissa Morrison (fifth in the world) in the 60 hurdles, calendar girl Amy Acuff in the high jump and the top six ranked American pole vaulters led by world leader Stacy Dragila.
****BOX
DATA
What: Adidas D.C. Invitational track & field meet
Where: George Mason University, Fairfax
When: Jan. 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
TV: Ch. 4, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
