The Millrose Games return for their 114th edition this weekend after a one-year layoff. A packed schedule of high school, college and pro events runs from 10:25 to 4:20 this Saturday at The Armory in New York City. TV coverage for the whole meet is available from USATF (subscription required) or you can watch the last two hours live on NBC.
In 2012, the games moved from Madison Square Garden to The Armory. So maybe they gave up some of the Garden’s “atmosphere” in the deal but they certainly upgraded the facilities. A show of hands – how many prefer running on a 160 yard splintery board track versus a 200 meter, six-lane, banked mondo track? That’s what I thought. The change shows in the performances. In the nine years the Wanamaker Mile has been contested at The Armory, the winning time has averaged 3:52.34; in the nine years before the move, the average is 3:57.62.
The meet organizers have assembled strong fields across the board, so we’re looking for some quality stuff.
Not A Misprint
Athing Mu in the mile? Donovan Brazier in the 400? Clayton Murphy in the mile? Raevyn Rogers in the 400? No you didn’t read those wrong. Several athletes are indeed stepping out of their “comfort zones” for this meet. We will be most interested to see how they test the “favorite” in their respective events.
Events We’ll Be Watching
Well, we’ll be watching them all so what we really mean is events we’re curious as to how they’ll play out. The men’s 3000 is a deep field including Hunter, Kiptoo, Grijalva, and Parsons. But we wonder about the finishing speed of Cole Hocker will be the decisive factor here. The men’s 60m field features Lyles, Lyles, Bromell, Coleman and Baker (a law firm?) and there’s no obvious winner there. We look forward not only to Purrier-St. Pierre taking on Klostenhoffen in the women’s mile but also seeing whether Athing Mu gets into the mix. The women’s 3000 and the men’s 800 show strong fields as well.
Don’t Look Behind You
Several events have what you might describe as “prohibitive favorites” That is, you think they have a good shot at winning but do face some stiff competition. For example, Ajee’ Wilson has been a force at 800 meters for some time now. But she will be tested by Jamaica’s Natoya Goule – who also has a PR under 2:00;, don’t forget Nia Akins, who last year dropped her personal best down to 2:00.24. Both of the 400m races have regular favorites in Jessica Beard and Vernon Norwood. However, each will face unknown quantities in the form of 800m interlopers Raevyn Rogers and Donovan Brazier. Same thing in the 60H. Devon Allen and Keni Harrison look good but there are deep fields behind them.
Good Trend
You have to say Ryan Crouser is more than a prohibitive favorite. He didn’t lose last year and broke both the indoor and outdoor records and never threw less than 21.93 meters (71′-11″). This will be his first competition since September but we do like the trend.
Meet Record Least Likely to Be Broken
Carl Lewis’s long jump mark of 8.79 m (28′ 10.25″) from 1984 will not be touched this year. We can say that confidently because the event – at least for men – isn’t contested at the Millrose Games, not for a long time as far as we can tell. But do not mistake that for mocking the mark. Aside from being the meet record, it was, and remains, the world indoor record. Further, there’s a great story behind it, as detailed in this Sports Illustrated article: https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/02/06/a-long-jump-thatll-be-long-remembered. It wasn’t just the leap, it was the context.
The Wanamaker Mile
You want tradition? We got your tradition right here. Check out this selected list of winners of The Wanamaker Mile dating back to 1927:
- Glenn Cunningham
- Ron Delany
- Kip Keino
- Mary Liquori
- Filbert Bayi
- Dick Buerkle
- Eamonn Coghlan
- Steve Scott
- Marcus O’Sullivan
- Nouredine Morceli
- Bernard Lagat
- Matt Centrowitz
This year’s edition has some great names representing a broad spectrum of nations (six) and age (from 18 year-old Hobbs Kessler to the 38 year-old Kiwi Nick Willis. Handicapping this race is tough. I count at least eight athletes with indoor bests under 3:55. John Gregorek leads the way with a 3:49.98, the only one under 3:50. But he’ll have to contend with Nick Willis (3:51.06), Craig Engels (3:53.89 and best mustache in the field), Henry Wynne (3:51.26), Sam Prakel (3:50.94), Josh Kerr (3:53.65) and Ollie Hoare. Not to mention Clayton Murphy (3:53.30) stepping up from his usual 800 distance. Throw in the “racer’s racer” Erik Sowinski and this looks awesome.
The Katie and Sandi Show?
Like the shot put, we should be careful not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but the women’s pole vault does look like it comes down to the Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris show. Morris will be looking to move past 2021, a season that ended on a rain-soaked runway in Tokyo, with a broken pole and an injured hip. Nageotte is coming off her best season that included a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Morris has an indoor PR of 4.95m while Nageotte’s is 4.94m. Looking forward to seeing the two competing together again.
This is just a taste of what’s on offer Saturday afternoon but hopefully it gives you a sense that this edition of the Millrose Games is well worth watching.
