FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field
awarded to Mt. SAC and L.A. area
INDIANAPOLIS - The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field will return to
the Los Angeles area in 2020, with Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in
Walnut, California, hosting the 10-day event, USATF announced Wednesday.
USATF's board of directors voted to award the Olympic Trials to Mt. SAC
based upon its desire to take the sport's biggest event to the country's
second-largest media market; the historical strength of the sport in the
Los Angeles area; Mt. SAC's record of hosting elite track events that
produce top performances; and a $62 million upgrade to Mt. SAC's Hilmer
Lodge Stadium that will enable the venue to expand to a seating capacity of
more than 21,000.
The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field are currently slated for
June 19-28, 2020. Eugene, Oregon, and Sacramento, California, also bid for
the Trials.
"The board was presented with three excellent options for the 2020 Olympic
Trials," board chair Steve Miller said. "The board, and especially our
active athletes, were clear in their desire to take the Olympic Trials back
to Los Angeles. Mt. SAC has long been one of the top meets in the country,
from an athlete performance perspective as well as from an organizational
perspective. With the stadium upgrades currently planned, we are confident
Mt. SAC will provide an extraordinary experience for athletes, fans,
officials and volunteers."
Hilmer Lodge Stadium was the site of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team Trials -
Track & Field for women and has been the site of many historic moments in
the sport. Twenty world records have been set at the stadium, and six world
records were tied or broken in one night. The stadium upgrade currently is
slated for completion in 2019. Mt. SAC's favorable weather and the area's
robust options for transportation and lodging also were cited by the USATF
board, which voted 11-2 for Mt. SAC.
"On behalf of Mt. SAC, we are excited and humbled to be entrusted with
hosting the Olympic Trials," Mt. SAC Director of Cross Country and Track &
Field Doug Todd said. "Both Eugene and Sacramento have set a very high bar
regarding how this flagship event should be presented. We look forward to
welcoming the country's best athletes, fans, coaches and volunteers.
Working together with USATF and the USOC, we will deliver an Olympic Trials
that is worthy of the great athletes who work so hard for the right to
compete there."
Since its founding in 1959, the Mt. SAC Relays, held each April, has
featured many of the United States' top Olympic athletes. In 1992, 32 of
Team USA's eventual Olympic medalists in Barcelona competed at the Mt. SAC
Relays, including Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Edwin Moses and Mike Marsh. More
recently, Mt. SAC has been the site of top performances by U.S. stars from
all event groups, including Allyson Felix, Bernard Lagat, Evan Jager, Jason
Richardson, Walter Dix, Carmelita Jeter, Molly Huddle, Shalane Flanagan,
Dwight Phillips, Jenna Prandini, Jenn Suhr and Breaux Greer, among many
others.
A hotbed for track & field on all levels, from youth to college, elite to
masters athletes, Los Angeles last hosted the Olympic Trials in 1984, prior
to the Olympic Games the same year. With Los Angeles standing as one of two
bid cities for the 2024 Olympic Games, hosting the Olympic Trials in the
metropolitan area stands to be part of L.A.'s Olympic legacy, which dates
back to the 1932 Games.
"LA 2024 is thrilled to welcome the U.S. Olympic Trials - Track & Field
back to Southern California," LA 2024 CEO Gene Sykes said. "Mt. San Antonio
College's renovated Hilmer Lodge Stadium will be one of the world's finest
track and field venues and the perfect location to host the nation's top
track and field event in 2020. We also hope the Trials will be a preview of
more Olympic-quality track and field competition returning in Los Angeles
in 2024."
The 2020 Olympic Trials mark the continuation of an effort by USATF to
diversify the locations of its championship meets. USATF's outdoor
championships and/or Olympic Trials have been held in Eugene (2012, 2016),
Des Moines, Iowa (2013), and Sacramento (2014, 2017), while Portland,
Oregon, has hosted the 2016 USATF Indoor Championships and World Indoor
Championships. Eugene will host the 2021 IAAF World Outdoor Championships,
and Boston and Albuquerque, New Mexico, have hosted the USATF Indoor
Championships.
"USATF has been very deliberate and strategic about cultivating
relationships with cities and local organizers who are capable of and
interested in hosting our largest events," USATF CEO Max Siegel said. "The
level of interest in the 2020 Olympic Trials is a reflection of that
effort. With a strong base of world-class local organizers, our sport will
continue to thrive."
ABOUT U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS
A collaboration between the United States Olympic Committee and its
National Governing Bodies, U.S. Olympic Team Trials are held in multiple
sports prior to each edition of the Olympic Games and allow athletes to vie
for the honor of representing Team USA. Often the last stop in an athlete's
journey to the Olympics, the Trials also offer fans an up-close experience
with America's sports heroes before they go on to compete on the world's
biggest stage. Selection procedures for each sport are developed by the
NGBs in concert with the USOC and follow parameters set forth by each
International Federation.
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