More than 3,000 athletes from 62 countries will compete this Wednesday through Monday, March 15-20, at the 2006 World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor. Held at the Intersport Arena in Linz, Austria, the meet will include a wide array of competitors, including 97 American athletes.

The championships will feature competition by the world's best masters track & field athletes, ages 35 to 100, including three-time World Master's decathlon champion Emil Pawlik and Joy Upshaw Margerum, 2005 USA Masters Indoor champion in the 60m, 60m hurdles, and long jump.

The top combined events athlete in the U.S. over the last several years, Pawlik, the 2005 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year, is entered in the 60m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, javelin, and the pentathlon. Pawlik's resume includes the world masters decathlon titles in 1999, 2003 and 2005.

A brilliant performer in the sprints, hurdles and jumps over the years, Joy Upshaw Margerum is entered in the 60m, 60m hurdles, 200m, and long jump. Out of California State-Hayward, Joy is the sister of two-time U.S. long jump champion and 2004 Olympian Grace Upshaw. Her father, Monte, broke Jesse Owens' national high school long jump record in 1954.

Competition opens Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. local time with the opening rounds of the women's 70+ 200 meters. Competition continues Thursday through Monday, with events - including sprints, relays, distance races, race walk, hurdles and field events - beginning at 8:30 a.m.

For more information on the 2006 World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor, including a full listing of American entrants, visit www.usatf.org or www.linz2006.com/ eng.