Molly Huddle and Andre De Grasse To Star in 2016 NYRR Millrose Games on Feb. 20th
Press Release
January 7, 2016
NEW YORK, January 7, 2016 – North America’s next sprint superstar and an American long distance runner with Olympic medal aspirations are two of the headliners at the 109th NYRR Millrose Games to take place February 20 at The Armory.
Toronto native Andre De Grasse, who recently signed an $11 million deal to join Puma, quickly rose to stardom in his one season at the University of Southern California. The new professional will make his NYRR Millrose Games debut in the 60 meters.
“I am definitely looking forward to the hype,” De Grasse said from his new training residence in Arizona. “I’ve heard good things about the Millrose Games in the past so I want to see how I match up against some of these fast 60-meter runners. This will definitely be a great test for me.”
De Grasse set the sprint world ablaze last year at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. where he ran wind-aided times of 9.75 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.58 seconds in the 200. Those performances ranked among the top 10 all-time under any conditions and immediately thrust him into the conversation of whether he could be the future heir to Usain Bolt’s global dominance.
He went on to claim two gold medals at the Pan Am Games at home in Canada before competing at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, where he tied for the bronze medal in the 100 meters.
Tickets are on sale now for NYRR Millrose Games, one of the touchstone events in the sport of track and field any year, but a critically important momentum-building meet in 2016. To purchase tickets for the 109th NYRR Millrose Games please go to https://tickets.nyrrmillrosegames.org/Tickets.
Molly Huddle, who grew up in Elmira, N.Y., is near the peak of her career and has become a dominant figure on the track and also the roads. With a great field assembled, the possibility of a new U.S. indoor record in the 5,000 meters at the NYRR Millrose Games is real. Huddle broke the outdoor record in 2014.
Huddle won the 2015 United Airlines NYC Half last March with a personal best 1:08.31, becoming the first American winner, male or female, in the event’s history.
After missing out on an IAAF World Championships bronze medal last summer by one step, Huddle is focused on making amends at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Following her fourth place in Beijing, Huddle swept the four U.S. road titles at distances of 5K, 10K, 12K and 20K.
This year will be a truly unique NYRR Millrose Games. The nation’s most recognized indoor track & field meet will be the starting point of a spectacular 2016 lineup that will follow with the 16th IAAF World Championships in Portland on March 17-20 – for the first time in nearly 30 years on U.S. soil – and the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro August 5-21.
About the NYRR Millrose Games
With a storied history that spans more than a century, the NYRR Millrose Games is one of track and field’s most prestigious and enduring annual events. A New York City sports staple, the meet moved to the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in Washington Heights in 2012 after having called Madison Square Garden home from 1914 to 2011. The Games—established by employees of Wanamaker’s Department Store—feature track and field’s most prolific male and female stars as well as collegiate, high school, club and youth competitors. More than 200 athletes share the distinction of being both Millrose and Olympic champions. In November of 2013, New York Road Runners became the title sponsor of the NYRR Millrose Games, which is hosted by the Armory Foundation.