MEDIA ADVISORY: USOC to Host Two Media Teleconferences for Week of February 25

MEDIA ADVISORY: USOC to Host Two Media Teleconferences for Week of February 25 The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will host two teleconferences this coming week beginning with a Bob Beamon teleconference on Tuesday, February 26 at 10 a.m. MOUNTAIN (12 noon EASTERN). The second teleconference call is Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 12 noon MOUNTAIN (2 p.m. EASTERN) and will feature the U.S. women who will compete at the Tyson American Cup, March 1, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Martha Karolyi, the women's national team coordinator, will also be on the call. In celebration of Black History Month, the USOC will pay tribute to Olympic Great Bob Beamon. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Beamon's historic long jump of 29 feet and 2 1/2 inches at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Not only was Beamon's leap the longest in history at the time, his Olympic Games record still stands today. Joining Beamon on the call will be 2008 U.S. Olympic long jump hopefuls Dwight Phillips (Tucker, Ga) and Tiana Madison (Elyria, Ohio). Phillips is the reigning Olympic gold medalist following an emphatic victory at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Phillips won the competition with a leap of 8.59m/28-2.25, just shy of his personal best of 8.60m/28-2.75. It was the first U.S. Olympic men's long jump gold medal since Carl Lewis won at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. With Phillips' triumph in Athens, U.S. men's long jumpers have now won that event 22 times out of the 26 occasions the event has been contested in modern Olympic competition. He won his third USA Outdoor men's long jump title in 2007 before capturing the bonze medal at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan, and ending the season ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for the fifth consecutive year. He also competed at the 2000 Olympic Games where he finished eighth. Use the following link for a complete bio on Phillips. http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Phillips_Dwight.asp Madison burst on the national stage with 2005 NCAA indoor and outdoor championship victories before placing second at the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships. Madison then unleashed a personal best leap of 6.89m/22-7.25 in the fifth round of the World Outdoor Championships to win the gold medal. In 2007, Madison moved to Los Angeles and is working with coach Bobby Kersee. Use the following link for a complete bio on Madison: http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Madison_Tianna.asp The call-in teleconference number for the Bob Beamon teleconference is 1-800-311-9410 and the verbal password is BEIJING08. Members of the U.S. Women's Team for the 2008 Tyson American Cup include Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa; Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas; Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Shayla Worley of Orlando, Fla. Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, became just the fourth U.S. woman to win the coveted world all-around crown with her come-from-behind victory in the all-around finals at the 2007 World Championships. She joined Kim Zmeskal (1991), Shannon Miller (1993-94) and Chellsie Memmel (2005) as the U.S. women to win an all-around world title. In addition to her all-around title, she also won team and floor exercise gold medals. In 2007, she won every event she entered: the 2007 Tyson American Cup; won the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games, along with the team title; and the all-around, balance beam and floor exercise titles at the 2007 Visa Championships. She trains at Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines, Iowa. Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, along with her team title, won the balance beam gold medal and finished second on the uneven bars at the 2007 World Championships. Liukin now has nine world medals (four gold and five silver), tying the mark of nine world medals held by Shannon Miller, who has earned more world and Olympic medals than any other U.S. gymnast (16 total). At the World Championships, Liukin won the uneven bars and balance beam in 2005, along with a silver medal in the all-around and floor exercise; and in 2006, she earned silver medals in the team and the uneven bars. From 2003-06, Liukin won four straight U.S. all-around titles (junior in 2003-04 and senior in 2005-06), and 10 national individual event crowns (six junior and four senior). She added another U.S. title on uneven bars in 2007. Liukin won the Tyson American Cup in 2006. She trains at WOGA in Plano, Texas. Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind., was a member of the U.S. gold-medal teams at the 2007 World Championships, the 2007 Pan Am Games and the USA vs. Great Britain International Competition. At the 2007 Worlds, she was the first U.S. woman to compete in the team finals, leading the United States off on vault. She also competed at the 2007 Tyson American Cup and was seventh in the all-around at the 2007 Visa Championships. Peszek trains at DeVeau's in Fishers, Ind. Shayla Worley of Orlando, Fla., was a member of the 2007 World Championships gold-medal team. Also in 2007, Worley placed second on the balance beam at the U.S. Classic and also finished second in the all-around and the uneven bars at the Visa Championships. At the 2007 USA vs. Great Britain International Competition, she placed first on the uneven bars and second in the all-around, and was a member of the championship team. This is Worley's third straight appearance at the Tyson American Cup (2006-08). She trains at Orlando Metro in Orlando, Fla. The call-in teleconference number for the USA Gymnastics teleconference is 1-800-311-9410 and the verbal password is GYMNAST. For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at 719-866-4529.