Record Rematch at NYRR Millrose Games

Published by The Armory on December 4, 2013

It will be another chase at an American record at the NYRR Millrose Games on Feb. 15, but the one who stunned the crowd last February won't be a surprise in 2014.

Last February at Millrose, two Americans who'd made huge news in the 800-meter final at the London Olympics — Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds — squared off in a much-ballyhooed 600m run on The Armory oval.

As expected, the American record went down that night. But it was a surprising late entrant — Erik Sowinski — who turned the trick, circling the track three times in 1:15.61 and crossing the line with his arms and fingers fully extended. He broke Solomon's less-than-a-month-old record by .09 seconds.

All three are back this year and their race has been expanded by two laps. And it is Symmonds who has already called an American record at Millrose a goal. "The 1,000m indoor American record is one that I have had my eye on for a very long time," he said. "I truly believe the Armory is the best track for an attempt and I am confident that the passionate NYC crowd will cheer the field on to a new record."

Actually a fourth entrant — two-time NCAA champion Robby Andrews — has run the fastest 1k of the group, stopping the clock in 2:17.90 at the Armory Collegiate Invitational last February. That was just .04 from the 2002 American record set by David Krummenacker. Andrews — who now trains with the NJ-NY Track Club — would have likely broken that mark had he not peered at the scoreboard just before his finish.

Solomon is now a three-time national champion at 800 meters and finished fourth in the blazing Olympic final in 2012. His time of 1:42.82 was the second-fastest in U.S. history, behind only his coach, the incomparable Johnny Gray.

Symmonds — who was right behind Solomon in London, taking fifth in 1:42.95 — had been agonizingly close to the podium at the previous three global events, before claiming a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow (1:43.55).

Given the caliber of that field and the new Mondo at The Armory, Krummenacker's American record seems to be in serious jeopardy on Feb. 15. The world indoor record is 2:14.96, established in 2000 by Wilson Kipketer in Birmingham, England.