BOSTON, Mass. (Jan. 9, 2020) – Brianna McNeal and Nia Ali, the reigning Olympic and World Athletics Champions in the 100m hurdles, respectively, will go head-to-head at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, organizers announced today.

Tickets for the event on Jan. 25, which forms part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour, are now on sale at www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

With little more than two weeks to go, the women’s 60m hurdles is shaping up to be one of the most competitive events at the 2020 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, led by Brianna McNeal and Nia Ali – two of the most accomplished women’s hurdlers competing in the world today. 

McNeal burst on to the international scene in 2013, a season which saw her win the NCAA, US national and world titles in the 100m hurdles. She also won the silver medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships behind gold medalist Ali. Later that season, the two traded positions, with McNeal winning the Olympic title in Rio and Ali taking the silver. Last year, Ali completed her second remarkable return from maternity leave to win gold at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in a time of 12.34, a lifetime best.

Hoping to best both champions in the women’s hurdles will be Christina Clemons, the 2018 World Indoor Championships silver medalist, and Isabelle Pedersen, the Norwegian outdoor record-holder. Clemons won the World Athletics Indoor Tour that same year, securing her a wild card for the championships with vital Tour points up for grabs again this year. Clemons is also the equal sixth-fastest woman in history at the 60m hurdles. Pedersen finished sixth in the final of the 60m hurdles at the 2018 World Athletics Indoor Championships and fifth in the 2017 European Indoor Championships.

Making his fourth-consecutive appearance at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix will be middle distance star Donavan Brazier. The 22-year-old is coming off a 2019 season for the ages which saw him become the first American man to win Diamond League and World Athletics Championships titles over 800m, the latter of which in an American record 1:42.34. His 2019 indoor season was also a huge success, setting an American indoor record for 800m (1:44.41) and a new world best for 600m indoors (1:13.77). Brazier will be opening his 2020 season in Boston and is lining up over 600m.

Continuing the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix’s tradition of excellent middle-distance competitions, the men’s mile will feature a compelling match-up between two accomplished Olympians: Nick Willis and Clayton Murphy. Willis is a two-time Olympic medalist at 1500m, a former Commonwealth Games Champion and has been at the top of men’s 1500m running for more than a decade. He has won the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix mile a record six times, and broke New Zealand’s national record in 2015 when he set the event record of 3:51.61.

Murphy became the first American man in 24 years to win an Olympic medal at 800m when he took bronze in Rio de Janiero in 2016. Last year, he won the US indoor national title over 1000m and was a finalist in the 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

The 2020 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix kicks off at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College and is the only U.S. stop on the World Athletics Indoor Tour. The series of seven international events with stops in Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf (Germany), Torun (Poland), Glasgow (Great Britain), Liévin (France) and Madrid (Spain) awards overall tour winners $20,000 and a guaranteed spot at the 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China (March 13-15).

Now in its 25th year, the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix has played host to nine world records and 13 American records.

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