British Flare at TrackTown Tuesday Event

Thompson and Simpson give British flare to TrackTown Tuesday Event
Greg Skipper and Sam Crouser also return to speak about the upcoming UO outdoor track season; OTC Elite athletes will be on hand to sign autographs before the event.

EUGENE, Ore. – (March 4, 2013) – OTC Elite athletes and British natives Chris Thompson and Jemma Simpson, along with University of Oregon throwers Greg Skipper and Sam Crouser, will headline the third TrackTown Tuesday event of 2013—this Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at the Downtown Athletic Club.

Vin Lananna, President of TrackTown USA and Associate Athletic Director of Olympic Development at the University of Oregon, will once again serve as the night’s Master of Ceremonies. In addition to the athletes, Lananna will introduce TrackTown USA CEO Michael Reilly, who will speak about his experience working at the 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

“We have a diverse group of athletes who call TrackTown home—from British distance runners like Chris and Jemma to two of the best young throwers in the country in Sam and Greg,” said Lananna. “This week’s event is an opportunity to celebrate them, and all the great athletes who train at Hayward Field.”

Thompson and Simpson, who train under OTC Elite head coach Mark Rowland, have their sights set on the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia this August. Thompson is a 5,000/10,000-meter specialist who competed in last year’s 10,000-meter race in London, which was won by countryman Mo Farah. His personal bests of 13:11.51 in the 5,000 meters and 27:27.36 in the 10,000 meters were set in 2010 and 2011 respectively. He also set a formidable PB of 1:01.00 in the half marathon last September.

Simpson is coming off a 2012 season in which she competed in four IAAF Samsung Diamond League competitions and recorded a season best mark of 2:00.72 in the 800 meters. Her personal bests of 1:58.74 in the 800 and 4:06.39 in the 1,500 came in 2010, a year in which she was ranked sixth in the world.

Skipper and Crouser will also speak to the TrackTown Tuesday crowd for the second straight season. Crouser is the reigning Pac-12 javelin champion and also won the silver medal at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials with a personal best throw of 265-1/80.80m, a distance that ranks as the second-best in school history. Skipper’s promising first season was cut short by a back injury, but he looks to return to the hammer ring healthy and ready for a big year in 2013.

Simpson and Thompson will be joined by many of the OTC Elite athletes for an autograph-signing session before the event, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and after the event for another 30 minutes. A packed house is expected, so get there early to secure a seat. Light refreshments will be served beginning at 6:45 p.m. Parking is located in the parking garage off Oak Street, and the event takes place on the third floor of the Downtown Athletic Club.

The TrackTown Tuesday series will continue throughout the indoor and outdoor track & field seasons with events on April 2 (Holiday Inn Springfield), May 7 (TBD), May 28 (Valley River Inn), and June 11 (Valley River Center).

Tickets to the NCAA Championships went on sale to the public on February 15. Go to www.goducks.com for more information.