The Adidas Track Classic is an American

track and field athletics Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area meetings where athletes can earn points to qualify for the

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

. The event has its roots in the Oregon Track Classic, which was sponsored by Adidas until 2005 and was forced to close that year due to lack of funding. Top athletes from the North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) area compete at the event and a number of national and area records have been set at previous editions. The event is usually held in mid-May at

The Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignity ...

, part of the Adidas Performance Institute. Athletes who are part of the Adidas track team often feature prominently and World Champions and Olympic medalists often participate in the event. The competition is broadcast on television in the United States.

Previous editions

After winning the 100 metres at the 2004 edition, Olympic Gold Medalist Maurice Greene walked back to the finish line and took off his shoes as if they were on fire. As part of the planned stunt Allen Johnson rushed onto the track with a real fire extinguisher to put out the shoes,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NvXhb52bAk How to mock your rivals in one of the more famous

showboating A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...

incidents. At the 2008 Adidas Track Classic

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

won both the

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and 200 meters races,Gay wins 100, 200 titles at Adidas Track Classic
. AFP (2008-05-18). Retrieved on 2009-05-17. while Megan Metcalfe and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Ali Abdosh Ali Abdosh Mohammed (Amharic: አሊ አብዶሽ; born 25 August 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres, cross-country running and road running. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 African Championships, ...

set world leading times in the 3000 and

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

respectively.

Shannon Rowbury Shannon Rowbury (born September 19, 1984) is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the ...

won the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athleti ...

with the fastest time by an American woman in five years and

Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Matthew Wariner (born January 31, 1984) is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the fourth fastest competitor in ...

set the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

meeting record. In the 2009 edition

Anna Willard Anna Willard (born March 31, 1984) is an American middle distance runner. Personal Willard grew up on a farm in Greenwood, Maine. She took up running as a high school student at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine. She competed as an undergra ...

ran the fastest 3000 meters steeplechase to have been run in the United States and Hazel Clark set a new track record in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him th ...

Jenn Stuczynski Jennifer Lynn Suhr ( née Stuczynski; born February 5, 1982) is an American former pole vaulter. She has been an Olympic and World champion, has been ranked #1 in the World, has been the #1 American pole vaulter since 2006, and has won a total o ...

aka Jenn Suhr,

Aheza Kiros Aheza Kiros (born 16 October 1985 in Tigray) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres. She finished fourth at the 2006 African Championships and seventeenth at the 2007 World Championships. Running at the 2009 ...

and

Kerron Clement Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael John ...

won their events with world-leading times but Clement's

400 meter hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ar ...

world leading time was disqualified due to a misplaced hurdle. Second-placed

Angelo Taylor Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American track and field athlete, coach, and winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics, who has been suspended by the United States Center for SafeSport for sexual miscon ...

struck out at the meet organisers for their mistake, saying he would never compete again at the event.

Meet records

Men's events

''Records are correct as of May 17, 2009.''

Women's events

References

External links

{{US track and field competitions Sports competitions in Los Angeles Track and field competitions in the United States Annual track and field meetings Sports competitions in Carson, California Track and field in California