Jenny Simpson Takes First at the 2012 Millrose Games

Considered one of the most historic track and field events, the Millrose Games held its 105th event at The New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory for the first time. Elite athletes from around the world were met with a sold-out venue in what became a night of intense competition and shattered records.

The signature event at the Millrose Games is the Men's Wanamaker Mile, a long-standing tradition since the early 1900s. This year, however, the event added the Wanamaker Women's Metric Mile to the schedule of events. New to the Millrose Games, Team New Balance athlete Jenny Simpson took home first in the women's metric mile after leading for the entirety of the race. She finished with a winning time of 4:07.27, four tenths of a second ahead of World Championships 800m Bronze Medalist Shannon Rowbury. In a post-race interview, Simpson reflected on the race, the challenging competition, and how it feels to run at the Armory. "As far as indoor races go, this is probably the fastest track, the best audience, and the best field I've ever raced against indoors at a 1500m," she said. "Very excited to pull off the victory." The Armory's YouTube channel has a full video replay of her win in the Women's Wanamaker Mile.

Among the night's great accomplishments, three new records were set in the Men's 5000m race. Bernard Legat took first in the event while setting a new American record (13:07.15) followed closely by training partner Lawi Lalang, a University of Arizona sophomore who set a new collegiate record (13:08.28). In the same race, high school junior Edward Cheserek of Newark, NJ, broke the national high school record with a time of 13:57.04 — making Cheserek the first high school athlete to finish the 5000m run in under 14 minutes indoors.

For more on the Millrose Games, you can visit the Armory's website for event videos and a complete list of results.

Photo by: Gregg Armstrong/ArmoryTrack