2012 New Balance Games Recap

Team New Balance's Andy Baddeley winning the Men's Elite Mile

Team New Balance members joined elite high school and professional athletes for the 2012 New Balance Games at the Armory Track in New York City this past weekend. The heightened anticipation for the start of the 2012 season, along with an electric atmosphere at the Armory, created an event full of memorable races, competitive spirits and broken records.

On the Thursday before the event, New Balance held a Q&A at the Armory with The British Milers — seven British athletes competing for a chance to represent Great Britain this summer. Athletes include Britain's top metric miler and 2008 Olympian Andy Baddeley, 2008 Olympian Tom Lancashire, James Brewer, Colin McCourt, Lee Emanuel, Nick McCormick, and Ricky Stevenson.

The field toes the line at the start of the Women's Elite Mile

On Saturday, Team New Balance produced first place wins in both the men's and women's elite mile run. Andy Baddeley, who won the mile at the NB Games in 2008 and 2010, came back to finish first in the men's elite mile with a time of 3:57.22. Baddeley was followed closely by Team New Balance's James Brewer, Craig Miller, and Ricky Stevenson — each of whom completed the mile in under four minutes.

Brenda Martinez finished first in the women's elite mile with a time of 4:39.37. Fellow Team New Balance member Hilary Stellingwerff came in a close second (4:39.82).

Team New Balance's Brenda Martinez winning the Women's Elite Mile

Stand-out performances also included high school students Edward Cheserek and Strymar Livingston. Cheserek was the only high school athlete to compete in the men's elite mile and finished seventh with a time of 4:02.21, the second fastest time ever for a U.S. high school student. Moreover, Livingston broke a 27-year-old record in the Varsity Boy's 500m Dash with a new time of 1:01.68.

For more on the NB Games, the Armory's website has a webcast replay and complete results.

Photos by: Ross Dettman/New Balance.