ATLANTA - September 10, 2020 -- An attempt to become the youngest
runner in history to break the four-minute mile barrier headlines Saturday
night's Atlanta Track Club Classic. Start lists for the middle distance-focused
meet, which will be held at an undisclosed high school facility in Atlanta,
were released today.
Rheinhardt Harrison is already the fastest 16-year-old in
American history. Last month, the Florida high school junior ran 4:01.34 at the
Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville. On Saturday, he will attempt to
become just the 12th American high school runner to break four
minutes in the mile and the first junior to do so since Jim Ryun's historic run
in 1964. Harrison would also become the youngest person ever to run under four-
minutes at 16 years, 6 months and 28 days old. Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway was
16 years, 8 months and 18 days old when he broke four-minutes at the
Prefontaine Classic in 2017.
Harrison will be joined on the start line by former Florida State
standout Kasey Knevelbaard
(3:58.08). Multiple pacemakers have been assigned to the race with a goal pace of 1:59
through 800m for Harrison.
The District Track Club's Edose
Ibadin leads the men's 800m having run a season's best of 1:44.81 last
month in Washington D.C. Teammate Alex
Amankwah (1:44.80) and Atlanta Track Club's Abraham Alvarado (1:46.62) will challenge Ibadin for the victory.
The women's 800 includes two women on the cusp of breaking two
minutes. New Balance's Hannah Segrave
(2:00.18) and The District Track Club's Jazmine
Fray (2:01.18) lead a field that will also include high school national
record holder Sammy Watson (Adidas)
and former NCAA runner-up Allie Wilson
(Atlanta Track Club).
The Atlanta Track Club Classic will kick off with a series of
masters races including a men's and women's 100m and a men's mile. Elite races
will be streamed on Atlanta Track Club's Instagram account (@atlantatrackclub)
beginning with the men's 800m at 7:45 p.m. EST.
Atlanta Track Club will follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols as
required by USA Track & Field's sanctioning requirements to ensure the
safety of the athletes, coaches and staff. All athletes must submit two
negative COVID-19 tests within seven days of the event. Wellness checks will be
administered on site. No spectators will be permitted inside the venue.