With Olli Hoare and Laura Muir in the Wanamaker Miles, sprinters Noah Lyles and Abby Steiner plus shot putter Ryan Crouser, is the New York event the No.1 indoor meet on the calendar?
The Millrose Games bills itself as the premier indoor meeting of the season and the 115th edition of the event on Saturday (Feb 11) so far lives up to the hype.
Athing Mu may have withdrawn from the women’s 600m, but there are still a stack of world-class line-ups in pretty much every event as meet director Ray Flynn has pulled out all the stops to assemble the fields for this latest meeting in the World Indoor Tour Gold series at The Armory in New York.
Not surprisingly the Wanamaker Mile races will be among the highlights with Laura Muir building on her 3000m victory at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston last weekend as she takes on Sinclaire Johnson, Josette Andrews and fellow Brits Jemma Reekie and Katie Snowden.
The women’s Wanamaker Mile record, incidentally, is 4:16.85 set by Elle Purrier St Pierre three years ago.
Laura Muir (Kevin Morris/NB Indoor GP)
It is almost 40 years to the day since Eamonn Coghlan became the first man to break 3:50 for the indoor mile, with Flynn runner-up in that race at Meadowlands in 1983. That time is still world-class today and a sub-3:50 clocking will be a target for the 2022 men’s line-up.
Olli Hoare is the defending Wanamaker Mile champion and the Australian faces recent US 3000m record-breaker Yared Nuguse, Olympic finalist Cole Hocker, Spain’s Mario Garcia, New Zealander Sam Tanner and Britain’s Neil Gourley. Win or lose, Hoare’s next stop is the World Cross Country Championships on home soil in Australia seven days later.
Last year’s 3000m winner, Geordie Beamish takes on the 2023 runner-up Cooper Teare plus Joe Klecker, Luis Grijalva, Nico Young and Britain’s Josh Kerr as the Olympic medallist moves up in distance.
Alicia Monson, the women’s 3000m winner last year, is another 2022 winner in action. She takes on fellow American Elise Cranny, Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen and NCAA talent Katelyn Tuohy.
Mu might be missing in the 600m, meanwhile, but the line-up still features Ajee’ Wilson – a seven-time Millrose winner.
Noah Lyles (Kevin Morris/NB Indoor GP)
In the sprints Noah Lyles takes on world record-holder Christian Coleman in the men’s 60m, while Aleia Hobbs, Melissa Jefferson, Mikiah Brisco, Celera Barnes and Marybeth Sant-Price lead the women’s 60m field.
Abby Steiner tackles the 300m and has the US record of 35.71 and world record 35.45 in her sights. Rivals include Jenna Prandini and Brittany Brown.
Abby Steiner (Getty)
In the women’s sprint hurdles, Keni Harrison faces 2019 world champion Nia Ali, heptathlete Anna Hall plus Olympians Anna Cockrell, Devynne Charlton and Britain’s Cindy Sember.
In the field, Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs lock horns again in the men’s shot put while women’s world champion Chase Ealey heads the women’s shot line-up. World record-holder Crouser is promising to unveil a new technique too.
Ryan Crouser (Getty)
Katie Moon (née Nageotte) and Katerina Stefanidi are part of the women’s pole vault field.
For UK viewers the meeting is on ViaPlay with a £14.99 monthly subscription or Sky channel 422 and Virgin channel 553.
Timetable and results here.
