Reigning Olympic and world 100m champion Justin Gatlin will headline the 2006 Reebok Grand Prix on June 3 at Icahn Stadium in New York City, organizers announced on Tuesday.

"The first time I was in Icahn Stadium, I knew you could run sub-10 on that track," said Gatlin in a media teleconference, referring to his appearance at the grand opening of the stadium last spring. "It's New York, hey. It's where I was born, where I was raised. There's not a lot of tracks I can call home, that have a home feel about them, and I think this can be one of those places for me."

During the teleconference, Gatlin also said that he hopes to run 9.75 sometime this season. The world record, held by Asafa Powell of Jamaica, is 9.77. "If Asafa can do it, I can do it," he said.

The Reebok Grand Prix, which in its debut last year was the first international competition held in the new Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, is managed by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., and is the only outdoor East Coast meet that offers head-to-head competition among world-class athletes. Tickets, at $30 and $20, are now on sale at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com or by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC. Group discounts are available. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., will be broadcast live on ESPN2 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. ET, and is the fourth stop in USA Track & Field's Visa Championship Series.

As a triple medalist at the 2004 Olympics (100m gold, 4x100m silver, 200m bronze) and 2005 World champion at both 100m and 200m, Gatlin is the most dominant sprinter in the world. His winning time in Athens of 9.85 seconds led the fastest 100-meter race in Olympic history, with five men breaking the 10-second barrier, and was the second-fastest Olympic winning time in history. Last year, he solidified his position on the top of the sprint world by becoming just the second man ever to win both the 100 and 200 at the same World Championships, and his margin of victory in the 100 was the biggest ever at the event.

In its inaugural year, the Reebok Grand Prix featured more than two dozen Olympic and World Championship medalists, including Athens gold medalists Liu Xiang (China), Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) and Joanna Hayes (USA). Several others, including Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) and Adam Nelson (USA) would go on to triumph at the World Championships last summer.