Feb. 26, 2006

BOSTON – The lead changed hands midway through the day, but in the end, sprinter Lisa Barber came back to win the women’s Visa Championship Sunday at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Hurdler Terrence Trammell’s world-leading time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles gave him the men’s Visa Championship over shot putter Reese Hoffa, the series-long leader.

Both Lisa Barber and Terrence Trammell are graduates of USC, but both train out of Columbia these days. Both were recruited and trained under Coach Frye’s watch. Barber was a three-time NCAA Champion and a 15-time All-American that helped USC win the 2002 NCAA Outdoor title with a runner-up finish in the 400m. Trammell, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 110m hurdles, was a six-time NCAA champion while with the Gamecocks and a 13-time All-American.

For their championship performances, Barber and Trammell each won $25,000 from Visa to support their Olympic journeys.

Both Barber and Trammell also qualified for the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia next month.

Barber comes from behind to win women’s title

Barber’s victory was hard-earned. She had led the Race for the Championship since week 1, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, when her time of 7.09 seconds in the women’s 60m earned her 1,203 points. But on Sunday, 2005 Outdoor Visa Championship Series winner Sanya Richards briefly wrested the lead from Barber when she clocked 51.26 seconds to win the women’s 400 meters and score 1,210 points.

Barber had the last card to play in the final race of the day. The 2005 USA Outdoor 100m champion ran 7.06 seconds to win the AT&T women’s 60 meters, scoring 1,212 points in the Race for the Championship. In the 60 she held off 2005 World Outdoor 100m champion Lauryn Williams (7.11) and 2003 World Outdoor 100m champion Torri Edwards (7.12) to win the race.

Barber had also posted a speedy time of 7.05 in the semifinal, but only performances in final races were eligible for the Visa Championship. Barber came through in the final, running exactly the time she needed to win the overall title.

“I knew before the race that I had to run 7.06 (to win the Visa Championship) and I said, ‘please run 7.06, please run 7.06,’ and I did it,” said Barber. “That’s the best part of all of this. I’ve stayed consistent all year and I hope to come back from Moscow with the gold medal. My start wasn’t that good and part of that is because it was nerve racking.”

Trammell wins title; nearly doubles his pleasure

Reese Hoffa’s shot put of 21.65m/71-0.5 (1,219 points) at the 99th Millrose Games stood up as the men’s Visa Championship Series leader until the penultimate men’s event of the AT&T USA Indoor Championships.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell’s win in the men’s 60-meter hurdles on Sunday took the prize out of Hoffa’s hands. Trammell’s wire-to-wire win in 7.46 seconds over Dominique Arnold (7.51) gave him 1,123 points and the overall Visa Championship.

Trammell came within .01 second of being the first man ever to win the 60 hurdles-60 dash double, finishing just behind Leonard Scott in the Hershey’s men’s 60 meter dash, the final men’s event of the meet. Scott won the race in a world-leading time of 6.52, with Trammell 200 meters (26.57) and David Jones won the men’s (23.30).

“It’s going pretty good,” said Trammell, a native of Atlanta, Ga. “I’m happy with today. I’m just glad to be on the team in the 60 meters. I tried to keep my momentum going to get ready for the dash. My focus was to make the team.

“I’m glad I won. That’s an added bonus (the $25,000 Visa Championship bonus money),” said Trammell.

The AT&T USA Indoor Championships is the final event of USATF’s Indoor Visa Championship Series and serves as the selection event for Team USA roster spots for the 2006 World Indoor Championships next month in Moscow, Russia, with the top two finishers in each event making the team. The World Indoor Championships, to be held March 10-12 in Moscow, will be telecast on OLN from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, with rebroadcast later in the month. A burgeoning cable network that reaches 64 million U.S. households, OLN has in the past broadcast sporting events including the 2005 Tour de France.

The meet also will be Webcast via live Video on Demand, available at www.wcsn.com, which also Webcast the 2005 World Outdoor Championships in Athletics. The Website will unveil a new look on March 6 and will offer a full Webcast schedule of European meets throughout the summer.