US Indoor Combined Events Championships
Indiana University in Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
March 6-7, 2010

2008 Olympian Diana Pickler (Manhattan, KS) won her third consecutive US Indoor Pentathlon Championship over the weekend and became the only woman to ever win three titles in this event.  Pickler scored 4,544 points, a new personal best by 102 points, and won 2 out of the 5 events contested (60m Hurdles and Long Jump).  Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo, CA), a 2008 Olympian in the High Jump, finished in third place with a new personal best score of 4,467 points, 2 points away from second place. 

In the Men's Indoor Heptathlon, Jake Arnold (Tucson, AZ) also won his third consecutive championship by winning the 3 events contested on the second day of competition.  Arnold was in 3rd place after day 1 and rallied to win the 60m Hurdles, Pole Vault, and 1000m run to secure his third title with a 2 day point title of 5,861 points.  Arnold is the second athlete to win 3 Heptathlon titles, joining former ASICS multi-eventer, Paul Terek.

Lolo Jones talks about her 26 hour trip to Doha, Qatar for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and shares her footwear secret for those long flights.

US Indoor Track & Field Championships
Albuquerque Convention Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 27 and 28, 2010

February 27, 2010

By virtue of her second place finish in the Women's 3000m this evening, Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) earned a roster spot for the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships to be held March 12-14 in Doha, Qatar.  Hall lunged at the finish in an attempt to overtake the leader but was out leaned at the finish line.  Hall's time of 9.14.92 was .02sec behind the eventual winner.  Her last lap (200m) was clocked at 30.4sec, the fastest of any runner in the field.  This is Hall's second trip to the World Indoor Championships (2006 Moscow, Russia).

In other action on the track, Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) dominated his heat and easily advanced to tomorrow's final in the Men's 400m.  Nixon ran 46.34sec, a second faster than the second place finisher.  Kendall Stevens (Lima, OH), running in the first of three heats, advanced to tomorrow's semifinals in the Men's 60m dash based on his time of 6.70sec.  Ryan Brown (Seattle, WA) finished 3rd in his heat in the Men's 800m but did not advance to tomorrow's final.  In the Men's 3000m, John Pierce (Mammoth Lakes, CA) ran 8:27.28 and finished in 10th place. 

In field event action, Erin Gilreath (Muncie, IN) finished 3rd in the Women's 20 lb. weight throw with a toss of 71' 11".  In the Women's High Jump, Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo, CA), cleared 6' to finish in 4th place.  In the Men's High Jump, Norris Frederick (Chula Vista, CA) finished in 8th place with a clearance of 7' 1 1/2". 

February 28, 2010

Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), seeking her 4th consecutive indoor championship, ran the fastest time in the semifinals, but a stumble over the fourth hurdle in the finals cost her the victory. Fortunately for Jones, she crossed the finish line in second place running 7.89sec earning a spot on the World Indoor Team.

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) was out leaned at the finish line and was relegated to third place with a time of 45.77sec, .01sec behind the second place finisher.  He will go to Doha as part of the 4x400m relay team.  In 2008, Nixon earned a Gold Medal as part of the winning quartet for the United States. 

In other track action, Kendall Stevens (Lima, OH) ran 6.70sec in the 2nd heat of the Men's 60m and did not advance to the final. 

In the field events, April Steiner-Bennett (Fayetteville, CA) cleared 14' 7 1/4" to finish in 4th place and Russ Winger (Chula Vista, CA) put the shot 63' 11 3/4" for 6th place. Norris Frederick (Chula Vista, CA) placed 3rd in the Men's Long Jump with a jump of 25' 10 3/4.

IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet
Moscow, Russia
February 7, 2010

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) concluded his European indoor campaign by winning the 400m at the IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet in Moscow, Russia Sunday, February 7, 2010.  Nixon ran 46.72sec in his last race before the US Indoor Championships (to be held at the end of the month in Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 27-28)).  Nixon has had an impressive indoor season with wins in all 4 races he has competed in.  Nixon won the 200m and 400m at the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff, AZ, the 200m at the Gugl Indoor Meet in Linz, Austria, and the IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet in Moscow. 

LoLo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) running in her 9th race over 7 days, finished in 2nd place in the 60m hurdles running 8.02sec.  Jones' 5 European indoor races concluded with 2 first place and 3 second place finishes.  Her next race will be at the US Indoor Championships to be held at the end of the month in Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 27-28).

Sparkassen Cup
Stuttgart, Germany
February 6, 2010

Laverne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) became the first woman to run under 7 seconds over 60m in 11 years when she ran 6.97sec at the Sparkassen Cup in Stuttgart, Germany.   Her time is the sixth fastest all-time and is just .05sec over the current world record.  Jones-Ferrette is now the clear favorite to win the world title at next month's World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar.

LoLo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), was relegated to second place in the 60m Hurdles in a time of 7.97sec. 

Reebok Boston Indoor Games
Boston, MA
February 6, 2010

April Steiner-Bennett (Fayetteville, AR) finished in 3rd place with a pole vault clearance of 4.45m (14' 7  1/4").  Better result for the 2008 Olympian as she no-heighted previously at the Millrose Games.

Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) finished 5th in the 3000m with a time of 8:55.17sec.  Hall will compete February 13, 2010 at the US Cross Country Championships in Spokane, WA. 

BW-Bank Meeting
Karlsruhe, Germany
January 31, 2010

Reigning World Indoor Champion, Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), came back from a 2nd place finish at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow, Scotland the day before to win the 60m Hurdles in a world leading time of 7.90sec.  After the race, Jones said: "It wasn't that bad for me today.  In my heat I took the first three hurdles superb but did not do well on the final ones. Strangely in the final it was just the other way round. My aim during this indoor season is to attack the US record and win gold at the World Indoor Championships."

It was another Jones, however, who stole the show at the first major international invitational in Europe for 2010.  Laverne Jones-Ferrette (Houston, TX), new to the ASICS Team for 2010, ran away from the field in the heats of the 60m crossing the line in 7.09sec, another world best and the fastest time recorded in the world since 2008.  Jones-Ferrette, a native of the US Virgin Islands, lowered her own National Record and is aiming to win a medal at the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar (March 12-14).  "I am getting faster and faster," Jones-Ferrette said. "Let’s see what happens in Düsseldorf on Wednesday. At the World Indoors my first goal will be to reach the final, and then I want to be in contention for a medal."

In other weekend action, Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) finished second in a thrilling finish in the Women's Mile at the Millrose Games in New York City.  Hall's time of  4:31.50 was .02 behind the winner.

Irvine, CA (January 7, 2010) –For 2010, ASICS will launch a new global advertising campaign entitled "The Cleansing Power of Sport".  The new campaign is born from the same philosophy from which the brand was founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka.  Onitsuka named the company ASICS, an acronym of the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano,” which means “a sound mind, in a sound body.”  Six decades later, this core philosophy continues to ring true and clearly defines ASICS’ brand promise - that by being active you can achieve a sound mind, in a sound body.

All elements of the campaign focus on the transformative power of running. Burdened by the countless negative influences that weigh us down each day, each runner in the campaign demonstrates how negativity can be cleansed from the mind and body through running.

“We believe this new campaign defines ‘sound mind, sound body’ better than ever before, and will inspire runners of all types,” says Gary Slayton, VP of Marketing, ASICS America Corporation.

As a brand that stands behind the powerful alliance of mind and body, ASICS doesn’t want runners to just run, but feel better about running and all that running delivers.

This video illustrates how you can cleanse the mind, build up the body and purify the soul through the "cleansing power of running".

From The Science Channel's acclaimed TV show "How It's Made" - watch how ASICS custom shoes are made at The Sports Institute in Kobe, Japan. Initially aired October 16, 2009.

www.howitsmade.com