ATLANTA - April 5, 2023 - The future of track and field will be on display at the inaugural
adidas Atlanta City Games. Organizers announced the addition of four rising
stars to the lineup for the meet which will be held Saturday, May 6 on a
specially-built, elevated track inside Centennial Olympic Park.
The athletes include World Bronze
Medalist Erryion Knighton. Last summer, Knighton, 19, made history as the
youngest sprinter to ever medal at the World Athletics Championships with his
bronze medal performance at 200 meters. This past weekend, he kicked off his
2023 season with a wind-aided 9.98 in the 100 meters at the Florida Relays.
"ATL, I'm excited to be competing in the adidas Atlanta City
Games on May 6," said Knighton,
who holds the fifth fastest 200m time in history. "Come join me at Centennial Olympic Park."
The women's sprint competition
will feature 20 year-old phenom, Tamari Davis. One of the sport's rising stars,
Davis, has a personal best 100m mark of 10.83 and opened her 2023 outdoor
campaign with a win in her hometown of Gainesville at the Florida Relays last
weekend. During the indoor season, she took second in the 60m at the Millrose
Games behind American Record Holder Aleia Hobbs who will also compete in
Atlanta on May 6.
"There's nothing as exciting as
a track crowd up close cheering us on, the carnival-like atmosphere is
surreal," said Davis, who set an under-20 world best in the 100m last year.
"Come May 6th, my sponsor adidas provides just that atmosphere at
the Atlanta City Games and I cannot wait to participate."
Tia Jones will add to the
excitement in the hurdle competition. Jones, a two-time World Junior Gold
Medalist has yet to compete in 2023, but is looking to build on a 2022 season
that saw her set a new personal best in the 100m hurdles and place fifth at the
U.S. Championships.
While there
will be plenty of action taking place on the track, the adidas Atlanta City
Games also includes two road events; a 600m and a mile. Hobbs Kessler, 20, who
holds the high school record for the indoor mile, will compete in the road mile
on May 6.
A full list of
athletes currently announced for the meet can be found here.
Held on the
evening of Saturday, May 6, the adidas Atlanta City Games is free and open to
spectators. The meet will also be broadcast live on adidas's YouTube
channel.
The day will kick
off with the Run
with Maud 5K at 8 a.m., a fundraiser for the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation to
celebrate the life of Arbery, who was killed while running in 2020. The early
afternoon will feature the middle schoolers competing on the sprint straight
away, with performances expected from the fastest
youth athletes in the state of Georgia. In the evening, runners and walkers of
all abilities are invited to the Running
City Mile, a road mile race where runners can compete against people in
their own age group. The Running City Mile will culminate with a professional
race, kicking off the adidas Atlanta City Games.
