NEW YORK, NY - Shot putter Adam Nelson and hurdler Danielle Carruthers are the leaders in the Race for the Visa Championship after the first stop of the 2005 Visa Championship Series, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. The Visa Championship Series moves to the Millrose Games on February 4 in New York.

At Boston, Nelson's impressive toss of 21.66m/71-0.75 was the top performance of the meet, good for 1,220 points using IAAF scoring tables. Carruthers' time of 8.08 seconds in the women's 60-meter hurdles garnered 1,170 points.

During USA Track & Field's 2005 Indoor Visa Championship Series, American athletes will compete not only for more than $1 million in prize and athlete support money, they will also be racing toward their share of a combined $100,000 jackpot and other prizes for the Visa Championship.

The male and female athlete with the top overall performances in the 2005 Visa Championship Series will be named Visa Champion and receive a $25,000 bonus. In addition, each Visa Champion will be awarded an invitation of their choice to a premiere Visa-sponsored event.

Crowning the Visa Champion

The top American male finisher and top American female finisher in each event of the Visa Championship Series, including the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, will have their performances assigned a point total based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. The athlete whose single-bestperformance has the highest point total at the end of the Visa Championship Series will be named the Visa Champion.

Although the top performance can come at any of the Visa Championship Series meets, an athlete must compete at the USA Indoor Championships in order to be named Visa Champion. Athletes competing on the high school or college level are not eligible. In addition, athlete performances in the first three meets of the Visa Championship Series must come in events that also are contested at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, or other events that qualify athletes to compete at the Championships, in order to be eligible for Visa Champions point totals and rankings.

Ties will be broken by determining which tied athlete had the best mark at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships. If a tie still exists, it will be broken by a coin toss.

For more information on the 2005 Visa Championship Series, visit www.usatf.org/visa.