New York - US sprint stars Maurice Greene and Gail Devers lead a stellar lineup competing on Friday in the 100th Millrose Games, a centennial edition of America's most storied athletics meet.
Greene, an Olympic and three-time world 100m champion, will race in the 60m where he owns the world indoor record of 6.39 seconds while Devers, a two-time Olympic 100m champion, will race in the 60m hurdles.
They are the latest in a century-old line of stars to appear at the event since it began in 1908 at a local armoury.
The gathering, named for the country home of the founding Wanamaker family, will be raced at Madison Square Garden for the 94th time, the oldest continuous event at the US sport shrine which has been rebuilt over the years.
Nine-time Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi of Finland won the 1.5 mile race in 1925 and such stars as Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Sergey Bubka, Bob Seagren and Carl Lewis have taken part in the American classic.
Loren Murchison, who won 13 sprint titles between 1919 and 1926, has the most triumphs in Millrose history. Irishman Eamonn Coglan won the meet's signature event, the Wanamaker Mile, a record seven times.
Lewis shattered the world indoor long jump record at the meet in 1984 with a leap of 8.79m. Other great Millrose moments include world records by pole vaulter Cornelius Warmerdam in 1942, high jumper John Thomas in 1959 and 1 500m runner Mary Decker in 1980.
Hoping to add to the legends are Greene, the former 100m world record holder owns six of the seven fastest 60m times, and 40-year-old Devers, a three-time world indoor champion at 60m and the US record holder in the 60 hurdles.
Greene returns to competition after an injury-disrupted 2006 season seeking his fourth Millrose title against a 60m field led by 2004 Olympic 200m winner and defending champion Shawn Crawford, who won at Boston in 6.55 seconds.
Two-time Olympic medallist Bernard Lagat seeks his fifth victory in the Millrose mile while fellow American Alan Webb enters after a career best indoor run of 3:55.18 last Saturday in Boston.
Australian Craig Mottram, who won the 3 000m last week in 7:39.24, and Ukranian Ivan Heschko, the 2003 world outdoor bronze medallist at 1 500m, will test the US duo.
Australian Steve Hooker and reigning world indoor champion Brad Walker will duel in the pole vault while reigning 400m hurdles world champion Bershawn Jackson faces 2003 world 400m outdoor runner-up Tyree Washington in the 400m.
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba, who broke her own women's 5 000m world record last week in Boston with a run of 14:27.42, will try to lower the mark even more.
Russia's Yelena Isinbeyeva, the reigning world and Olympic women's pole vault champion, makes her US debut and will try to set a world record for the 20th time. She owns the current mark of 5.01m.