Rupp enters USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
Galen Rupp
INDIANAPOLIS – 2008 Olympian Galen Rupp will compete in the men’s 3,000 meters at the 2011 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships presented by BMW, February 26-27 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
The third and final event of the USA Track & Field 2011 Indoor Visa Championship Series, the USA Indoor Championships will be televised live on Sunday, February 27, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
The meet will also be webcast at www.usatf.org in partnership with RunnerSpace.com. The free webcast will run from 6 – 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday and from 11:30 – 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with the New Mexico Sports Authority, the University of New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque and USATF New Mexico, are the official hosts for the championships, which were held in Albuquerque in 2010 and will return in 2012.
Rupp vs. Lagat in battle of American record holders
Rupp, who two years ago set an American indoor 5,000m record of 13:18.12 at the Tyson Invitational, ran a spirited race last Saturday against Britain’s Mo Farah at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix in England to finish second and lop .06 off Bernard Lagat’s year-old AR in the event with a 13:11.44. The mark makes Rupp the 13th-fastest all-time performer in the world.
The owner of American Junior Outdoor records at 3,000m and 10,000m, Rupp will be in search of his first USA Indoor title in Albuquerque. He’ll face a tough foe in Lagat, the 2007 World Outdoor 1,500m and 5,000m champion, who will be anxious to defend his USA Indoor 3,000m title on Saturday.
The winner of a record eight Wanamaker Mile titles at the Millrose Games in New York, Lagat also owns U.S. national indoor records at 1,500m, one mile and 3,000m, in addition to USA Outdoor records at 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
