Ajeé Wilson 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory
Ajeé Wilson 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory

NEW YORK, NY – Elinor Purrier and Ajeé Wilson not only won their respective races Saturday during the 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory New Balance Track & Field Center, but the two women also set American records on the “Fastest Track in the World.”

Purrier won the NYRR Wanamaker Mile with a blazing finish to pass defending champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen during the final lap, with a record time of 4:16.85.

“On the second to last lap, I started getting more confident,” said Purrier, a World Championships finalist in the 5,000m. “I was like, ‘I don’t feel totally out of it, I’m going to try to make a move.’”

Elinor Purrier
Elinor Purrier wins the women’s Wanamaker Women’s Mile 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory

“(About the record) I was just focused on competing, I wasn’t really listening to the splits at all. Honestly, I’m just trying to soak it in. It hasn’t really hit me yet.”
Purrier now owns the top American indoor mark that lasted since 1982 by Mary Decker with a 4:20.5.

The Women’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile included four national records: Purrier, Klosterhalfen (Germany, 4:17.26), Jemma Reekie (Great Britian, 4:17.88) and Gaabriela DeBues-Stafford (Canada, 4:19.73). And the top three runners through 1,500m established national marks en route to the exciting finish before a sold-out Armory.

“I’m still trying to grasp it,” Purrier said about being the new owner of the American indoor record. “My plan was to sit and go with the rabbit, and I knew it was going to be a fast race. I just tried to make a move.”

Ajeé Wilson 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory
Ajeé Wilson 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory

Wilson added to her list of wins at The Armory, winning the Jack & Lewis Rudin Women’s 800m for the second year in a row.

The Armory fan favourite from Neptune, NJ broke her own American indoor record with a 1:58.29. She set the American indoor record during last year’s NYRR Millrose Games with a 1:58.60.

She had plenty of motivation to hold off Jamaica’s Natoya Goule’s 1:59.35.

“That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard the crowd,” said the Olympian Wilson afterwards. “I had family and friends here that helped me run strong, and I got the American record. Millrose is super special. As a high schooler, I qualified for the Millrose Mile, and that was ten years ago.

She continued, “It just has that magic.”

Despite battling effects of a cold, Chris O’Hare captured his second Men’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile. O’Hare built a solid lead toward the end to finish with a 3:55.61, ahead of Olli Hoare of Australia and local product Rob Napolitano of HOKA NJ/NYTC with 3:56.47 and 3:56.56 times, respectively.

“Having two children, you’re in a constant state of sickness,” said O’Hare, who won in 2018. “I knew Filip (Ingebrigsten) would be in the front and be super strong and super confident, so I knew he would be the one taking it and he was the one I was going to have to beat from the bell.
“I felt ready.”

Ingebrigsten finished seventh with a 3:56.99.

Donavan Brazier wins the men's 800m in a new American record 1:44.22
Donavan Brazier wins the men’s 800m in a new American record 1:44.22 at the 113th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory

Donavan Brazier continued his success off his 2019 World Championships triumph in and American record season, with a victory in the NewYork-Presbyterian Invitational Men’s 800m.

Brazier rewrote his own American record in the 800m with a 1:44.22, breaking his previous mark set last year of 1:44.41. He took control of the race during the final lap en route to the victory.

“I’m starting to take indoors a little more seriously,” Brazier said. “This was the best field, and this will give me more confidence and more reassurance that I’m not living off the experiences last year.”

While former Syracuse standout Justyn Knight was winning the Dr Sander Men’s Invitational 3,000m with a 7:46.36, high school senior and national cross-country champion Nico Young of Newbury Park, Calif, set a new high school national mark of 7:56.97.

“This is what I came here to do,” Young said. “I definitely was really nervous before the race. I wanted to test my ability.”

The Jam Shakwi Men’s Shot Put included 2019 World champion Joe Kovacs and 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Ryan Crouser. Crouser, who lost to Kovacs by a mere centimetre in last year’s World Championships, won with a 72-9 ¾ throw over Kovacs’ 70-0 ¼.


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