Courtesy of USATF

Following USATF CEO Craig Masback's State of the Sport Address on Saturday at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships presented by Visa, there was a question and answer session with the media. Excerpts follow.

Q: How do you feel about China and Russia combining forces to be more competitive in track & field?
A: We just have to do what we do better. One of the benefits of being financially solvent, which we now have been over the last several years, but particularly paying off the accumulated debt that we had, is that we can invest more money into the development of our athletes. Our athletes when we started this in 1997 and 1998 said that the most important thing was to have quality domestic competitions and we think that through the Golden Spike Tour, now the Visa Championship Series, that we've delivered that. They said they needed that in order to develop their earning potential to not only be paid at those track meets, but they need to have exposure that will allow them to award their sponsors and we think we've done that with a quality television series that a lot of Americans watch. Now we're at a new level to help them do what they do more effectively. We have a four year development plan that we developed because the USOC requires us to develop it, that looks at what we can do on an event-by-event basis to get better, and we provide tremendous resources to our athletes such as high speed filming at all our major events that they can go and look at that night with people that can help them breakdown their performances through one of our suppliers, Dartfish. They can look at their performances and analyze them with their own coaches and with people who are experts so they can try to improve. I think the Chinese threaten seriously, and Russia, obviously, is already a great competitor, and that's what makes the opportunity to match-up with those countries attractive to us because the more our athletes can compete against those countries the better they'll be.

Q: What do you think about the proposal from Congress to have the government oversee drug testing in the U.S.?
A: We've long advocated that. That's the best thing for sending the proper message to young people and coaches is to have a single system that everybody understands and applies to everyone. Congress has to figure the legalities of that and the practicalities of that, but it is a tremendous step forward that the awareness of the issue has been raised and that people understand how serious the issue is and that people are thinking of how to address it on a national basis. When Olympic sports were doing there best on this issue it was not good enough. When track and field did its best on this issue is was not good enough. We were criticized and we deserved to be criticized. But I think people are understanding the scope of this issue now and are dealing with it on a national basis, which is the only way to be effective.

Q: How concerned are you that the chemists are still ahead of the testers?
A: Balco was a positive in confirming what everyone said, which is that there was a way to beat the system. This proved that there was at least one way to beat the system, and the positive outcome of that is that there are more opportunities and mechanisms in place to do more research. It is demonstrably true that there is more research now than there has been, and there are a variety of whistle-blowing programs that allow the clean athletes and coaches to point to USADA and others in the direction of the people that are cheating. Where we are in that race I don't know other than understanding that regrettably there are some percentage of humans that will seek to beat any system, and I think where we've learned a lot as a sport, and I've learned a lot personally, is represented by what we say, which is if there's one person cheating then we have a problem and we will continue to have that attitude and that approach.

Q: Are you making or losing money on your television series?
A: When we owed $3 million dollars that we didn't have, we have no safety net. We don't have the ability to lose money, so we have never lost money on our television packages since we started having television. We structure our television series and our involvement with the Visa Championship Series to be a break even proposition, it always has been and it remains. I think if you pulled it out and looked at it alone TV might be a slight profit center, but frankly if we do have extra money we put it into prize money or enhancing the meet. We do not receive a rights fee. We have a variety of arrangements with television networks. Essentially the best way to describe it is as a barter, we pay for some things and we get some things. We do not buy the time. I'll put it in a different way, that there is no financial risk for the television networks. We do take some financial risks from the way we do our business there is no financial risk. When we sell sponsorships there's advertising in it and the advertising takes the financial risk away from us.

Q: Will it get to the point where USATF will receive rights fees for telecasts?
A: The trend is not in our favor in that regard as fewer and fewer sports are receiving rights fees. Even the NHL is heading to the likely circumstance that they are not going to have a rights fee. I don't think it's realistic to expect in the short term that we're going to get a rights fee out of our television, but the better job we do at bringing new sponsors into the sport, we can build from being more of a break even proposition to being a profit center for us the way our deal is structured.

Open Women's 20,000 Meter Race Walk
Teresa Vaill, Walk USA, winner, 1:33:28.15, American record On her belief that she could break the record today (record has been on books since 1999):
"Yes, I definitely believed I had the chance to run this time. It's just hard when you're by yourself. Breaking the record is very exciting, but I just wanted to win. "

On how far down she can take this record:
"I think I can take this down to a 1:32."

On looking forward to Helsinki and goals for World Championships:
"I'm really looking forward to Helsinki. That's why I came back for one more year. My goal for Worlds is to get in the top 20. "

On the weather conditions:
"Perfect. This is nothing compared to Florida. Florida has a lot of humidity. It was perfect today ... I can't complain."

Open Women's Pole Vault
Stacy Dragila, winner, 14-07.25, Nike
"I was happy just to get off the ground and to make bars. I was happy to win. I thought that Tracy (O'Hara) would win. She has been jumping very well and very smoothly. I have been running from a new run (distance) and I am trying to find my rhythm. I relied on my past experiences."

Open Women's Pole Vault
Tracy O'Hara, adidas, 2 nd 4.40 (14-05.25)
"My performance was OK ... The wind was crazy. There was a strong cross and head wind. As a result every jump was inconsistent. I'm really excited about my finish, which is my highest at a national championship. My goal was to make the team, as well as win, especially with all the injuries everyone is having."

Open Men's Steeplechase
Daniel Lincoln, Nike, 8:17:27
"I was really nervous, but I made up my mind to make a move with two laps to go and I didn't want to get paralyzed in the race. As soon as I made the move and got some clearance, I was confident in my speed. I was not sure how Anthony (Famiglietti) would react. It's always good to win a good race and I wanted real bad. I was nervous because I was injured from February through April (stress fracture, left tibia). It took a long time to heal, but I was doing a lot of training in the pool and on the bike and I was confident in my fitness.

Open Women's 400m
Sanya Richards, winner, Nike, 49:28 (3rd fastest all-time American)
"I knew I could go fast. I wanted to go out well and execute my race. My dad said that if I did that, I'd have a good time. It was a great race. There are three under 50 seconds. What more can you ask for?"

Dee Dee Trotter, 2nd, adidas, 49:88
"I was looking forward to a faster start. I had a steady pace in the prelims and semis. I came home fast. I felt I could go faster."

Open Men's 400m
Darold Williamson, Nike, 44:62, 2 nd
"Jeremy wins the important ones. I've beat him all year, but today he put his race together and executed. I didn't work my 200/300 curve and he made his up on that curve. The most important thing is making the team. I missed it by 1-1/100 th of a second last year. It's all about putting together the 44 seconds that we run. If he puts it together, he (Wariner) wins. If I put it together, I win."

Andrew Rock, adidas, 3 rd, 44:70
"I looked left and thought I was in fourth or fifth, but I kept thinking I have to make this team. I just pushed hard through the line."

Jeremy Wariner, adidas, winner, 44.20
"I stumbled during the first half part of the race, but other than that, I couldn't have asked for a better race. My race plan was to come in to 200 at 21.2, but it was slower than that, I had to work harder on the second turn. I had plenty of energy for the home straight. It was a great competition with four or five people going for that third spot. Last year this was a harder race for me, but this year there's a lot more competition." A sweep in Helsinki is possible. Darrell is obviously right there and Andrew (Rock) has been running well all year. I'm really proud of how those guys ran. I'm in a good position to go faster."

Open Women's 1,500m
Treniere Clement, Nike, 1 st, 4:06.73
"I have been working on my finish all year. My speed is strong. I knew that would pull me through. (Clement does not have an A standard in the 1500) I'm going to sit with my coach and figure out what to do. My time today is a personal record.

On why she picked the 1500 over the 800 where she has an A standard:
"The 1500 has been my goal from day one."

Open Women's 1,500m
Jennifer Toomey, Nike, 2nd 4:07.39
"It was a fun race. I didn't know what to expect. I was just looking to place in the top three. (Toomey does not have an A standard mark) I have some races in Europe. Hopefully I'll get a time there. It's hard to get a time at a championship race, because everyone's looking at everyone else."

Open Men's 1,500m Champion
Alan Webb, Nike, 1 st, 3:41.97
"I won. I'm happy. It was rough at the beginning but I just wanted to stay focused and not panic. My composure was pretty good and I was ready for the move during the last 300/400 meters to go. The pace was a little slow, slower than I would have liked, I just had to be patient and wait for the race's speed to pick up. I trained with Chris Lukezic (he was second with 3:42:06) so I wasn't surprised that he was right there, I know how strong of a runner he is. Today was a great day for northern Virginia, the two of us trained last year with Treniere Clement (formerly of Georgetown). "

Open Men's 100 meters
Maurice Greene, adidas, DNF
"I got a good start. I was just going to make my move and start to accelerate and I felt my hamstring pop. There's nothing you can do about it."

Open Women's 400m hurdles Champion
LaShinda Demus, Nike, 53.35
"I got out of the first few hurdles fast and maintained my speed and rhythm. After the 7 th hurdle, I just sprinted home. I know what I'm capable of ... and that's medaling at Worlds, but you never know what's going to happen."

Open Men's 400 Hurdles
James Carter, Nike, Winner, Heat 1, 48.80
"I wanted to go out and win my heat to make sure I had a good lane for the final. Right now I feel good and I'm ready for the next race."

Ken Ferguson, 48.65, unattached, Winner, Heat 2
"I felt I couldn't let them scare me out of my race. So I was kinda the rabbit. Coming home I knew it would be a battle with Kerron, but I know I'm in shape to beat anyone coming down the stretch. This is my first year running with the seniors and it's a whole new experience running with the professionals."

Open Women's 100m Hurdles
Michelle Perry (Nike) winner of Heat 1, 12.52 (-0.9 wind)
"I just wanted to qualify, and I pushed it near the end just to make sure. I was happy with the time and I didn't hit any hurdles. Things are going really well. I feel amazing and I'm expecting really big things in Sunday's final. Joanna (Hayes) and I train together and we push each other all the time, and bring out the best in each other. I decided to withdraw from the heptathlon to focus on the hurdles, but I could have gone out there and made the team in the heptathlon as well. There's a different kind of training and time commitment with the heptathlon compared to the hurdles, but I'm not giving up the heptathlon."

Joanna Hayes (Nike) winner of Heat 2, Nike, 12.62 (+1.2 wind)
"It was my first time on the track in a week. It was sloppy, but cool. I have to be quicker in the middle. I need to be better technically. My goal here is to win and go to the Worlds, not just qualify for the Worlds."

Danielle Carruthers (Nike) winner of Heat 3, 12.92 (-0.9 wind)
"The race went well considering I have been trying to get over a little Achilles injury. It went well. I stayed relaxed. I knew I had to be technically efficient because of the wind and I just needed to get through the first round. Now that I have that behind me, I am ready for tomorrow."

Open Women's 200 meters
Angela Daigle (Nike), 22.77 (0.6 wind), winner Heat 1
"The 100 meters was disappointing for me (6 th, 11.41). I expected so much of myself. The 200 gives me a chance to redeem myself. I ran very relaxed in my heat and just wanted to make sure I crossed the line first. I like the 100 meters better, but I can run the 200 meters very relaxed. It's just a different approach."

Rachelle Smith (Nike), 22.53 (1.4 wind), winner Heat 2
"It was good; it is just the first round and just got finished with the 100. It kept me warm for the 200. We don't know if we are going to have a semi or just have a final. We're looking forward to seeing good things. A lot of people are coming in with fast times, the whole field is competitive.

Stephanie Durst (Nike), 22.94 (-1.8 wind), winner Heat 3
"I was just trying to get first in my heat ... just trying to make through to the next round. The wind was pretty strong and that didn't make it easy."

Me'Lisa Barber (adidas) winner, 11:10 (-1.6 wind)
"My success this year in the 100 is not a surprise to me. I've always considered myself a 100 meter runner. Since 2002 I've focused mostly on the 400 meters because I have been getting injured early in my college career. Now I'm a lot stronger and my form is much better. I went up against a great field. They are all great competitors. I started training with Trevor Graham in November and I've learned a lot about sprinting. His coaching is very technical and focuses a lot on form, strength and weight training. When I first started working with him. The workouts were very hard and he told me "now you see why I have the world's top sprinters here." (He also coaches Justin Gatlin and Shawn Crawford).

Open Men's 200 meters
Leo Bookman (Nike), winner of Heat 1, 20.63 (-0.9 wind) "I was trying to make it through to the next round. I wasn't looking for a time. My curve was good. I went hard the first 120 and made sure I finished in the top 2."

Tyson Gay (adidas), winner of Heat 3, 20.38 (-1.6 wind)
"I felt real good ... I ran the curve at 50% and maintained through the finish, just enough to cross the line in first place. I feel like I'm where I need to be. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There's a lot of competition out there. I train in Fayetteville with Wallace Spearmon. We push each other and he's starting to teach me some things."

Shawn Crawford (Nike), winner of Heat 2, 200 meters; 2 nd in 100 meters, 10.17)
"I trained through the European season. I'm going to be running in Rome, but it's important for me to be ready for Helsinki. He (Maurice Greene) played it smart to shut it down. Sometimes if you run through a hamstring pull, it can blow your whole season, but if you pull up you may be able to come back quicker with some therapy. You can never count out Maurice Greene. He'll come back and train even harder."

Justin Gatlin (Nike), Winner of heat 4, 20.53 (-2.3 wind), 100 meter champion, 10.08)
"I got about 3 & hours of sleep last night. People called me from all over unhappy with whole incident from yesterday. In my race today I didn't want anyone to think that I had an unfair advantage and I had to make sure that I came prepared. Now I also want to show that in the 200. There is a lot of young guys coming up and it is a very competitive field where no one is dominating. The trials are very hard mentally. In 2003 I didn't make the team and I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen here. In the 100 final, Maurice got out on me well and I saw him ahead of me when I came out of my start. When he pulled up his hand smacked me in the forehead and had I not been leaning back, he would have hit me squarely in the nose."

Women's Open Hammer Throw
Erin Gilreath (NYAC) 242'04" (73.87) *NEW AMERICAN RECORD
"I was really tired, but I told myself to feel the throw and it would be there. I have been having great practices and I new a great throw was coming. I am pretty emotional right now because I had a hard indoor season and after I returned from Athens I didn't know if I wanted to do this anymore. My goal at worlds is to just have a better performance than Athens. Right now I am just excited about today and not thinking about worlds quite yet. I still have a while to prepare for that."

Junior Women's 10,000 Meter Race Walk
Maria Michta, CW Post, 50:24.54, American junior record

"I wanted to go high 49 or low 50s. The first 3k was really good, but around the 5k, I noticed that I was way under pace. With four laps to go I was actually four seconds ahead of the (American junior) record especially when I came through the last 200 meters. The strategy paid off."

"This was my first win at this event and I am happy. There has always been a problem where something comes up and I don't win after being the favorite."

"My mom came out to watch me because it's my last junior meet. She normally does not get to watch my races because of the travel."

Men's Junior Hammer Throw Champion
Boldiszar Kocsor, RS-Freshman at UCLA

214-5

On two early fouls: "I knew I had to get in a safety throw after the first two fouls and my coach, Art Venegas, told me to do a two-turn. That two-turn saved me. I usually throw 200-ft. in practice with a two-turn so I knew that it was there if I needed it."

On being the favorite: "Usually I'm the underdog, but today I was the favorite and that was tough. I'm just glad I went through this experience now so I'm prepared for future meets."

On his overall performance: "I'm just really relieved because I didn't put it together and I need to prepare better for the next meet."

Women's Junior Triple Jump Champion
Cassandra Strickland, Cal-Berkley freshman, jumped 42-1.50/12.84m
"I'm really, really excited. It's my first national championship. I'm really glad I did it at Cal because of my coach (Chris Huffins). I'm ecstatic about making the national team. When I found out I won and had made the team, I was really, really happy."

On her mark: "My distance wasn't exactly what I wanted to jump today, but it was enough two win."

Junior Women's Javelin Throw Champion
Rachel Yurkovich, Newberg High School, 166-1/50.62
"I think I did OK, but I could have done better if I had not thrown in the Seniors (she also completed June 23 in the open competition). "I was just a little tired. I'm very glad I did confirm to compete in the senior competition."

Junior Women's 1,500m Champion
Sarah Bowman, unattached, 4:18.48
"I had a rough day yesterday in the 800 final. Everything that could have gone wrong, did. It felt nothing like me. I didn't run like I knew how to. Today everything went great. All year I have been training for this race. It worked out for me."

About running alone: "That's how I run. If someone wants to run with me, that's great. I've learned how to push myself. I hit each split."

Junior Men's 1,500m Champion
Mark Matusak, 3:47.07, Loyola High School, LA, Going to Cal in the fall.
"The race went really well. I'm happy with my performance. It's a big PR. Going into the race, my main goal was to make the team. It's cool. It's a great feeling to beat someone at such a high level (Galen Rupp)."

Junior Men's 400m Champion
Justin Oliver, unattached, 46.26
"I was concerned coming off the curve. No one is ever that close to me. Even though I was concerned, I knew I had a lot left in the tank. I just had to stay focused and relaxed. I knew I had a good chance. I came in ranked second. I've been training well."

Junior Women's 400m Champion
Natasha Hastings, South Carolina (declared winner after Brittany Jones was DQ'd lane violation), 51.34
"I really don't know how I feel about it yet. I really don't feel like a champion. I still feel like I was second. I'm really not sure how I feel. She's young and it's unfortunate it happened. I hope they still take her and put her in the relay pool (for Pan Am Jr. Championships)."

Junior Women's 400m final
Brittany Jones, Unattached, 51.18 (later DQ'd for lane violation)
"I feel great. This win was huge for me. It means a lot to beat someone as good as Natasha (Hastings) and to have a gold medal. I'm just a sophomore (Deerfield Beach High School, FL). This is my first time running against her. My previous PR was 52:44. Now I have to get a passport so I can go to the Pan Am's. I've been running since 7 th grade." (Hastings is the current World Junior Champion)

Junior Men's Discus Throw Champion
Ed Cornell, Cal-State Long Beach, 182-10 (55.73)
"I'm not happy with the distance, but very happy to qualify. I've waited two years to make this team. All season I've been trying to peak for this meet. I don't have high expectations for Pan Ams. I just want to have fun and throw well."

Junior Men's 3,000m steeplechase
John Martinez, unattached, winner, 9:06.60
"I wanted to run a sub-9:05. I did not get my goal, but I'm excited to represent the United States. The race went out hard Kevin (McDermott) and Shane (Young) took the lead and I stayed behind them. With a mile to go, I made my move."