USATF launches U.S. Open at Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK - Track & Field will return to the country's premier sports and entertainment venue for the 99th year on Saturday, January 28, when the U.S. Open Track & Field at Madison Square Garden kicks off USA Track & Field's 2012 Visa Championship Series, USATF announced Thursday.

Garden legend Bernard Lagat will headline in the men’s mile in a USA Track & Field meet that promises to showcase the best of the sport’s tradition in a streamlined in-stadium and broadcast presentation. The U.S. Open will be the first track meet to be held in The Garden following the completion of the first phase of the building’s historic, top-to-bottom, three-year Transformation, and will be the first major professional meet in the United States as the 2012 Olympic Year gets under way.

"Madison Square Garden feels like home to me, and I am so happy to be coming back in 2012," said Lagat, a 2-time Olympic medalist and the American record holder who has won eight 1-mile races in the Garden. "I can't think of a better place to kick off the Olympic year. I look forward to seeing the New York track fans who have supported me for so many years, many new fans in the new Garden."

The U.S. Open will be broadcast on ESPN2 from 7-9 p.m. Eastern on January 29 and is part of USATF's most aggressive TV schedule in years.