2022 Camel City Elite Pro Fields Announced

Pro athletes, including 8 Olympians, set to compete at 10^th Annual Camel City Elite 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – January 25, 2022 – It’s hard to believe that this is already the 10^th iteration of this event!  In less than two weeks, Winston-Salem and JDL Fast Track will host some of the top distance athletes in the world on Saturday, February 5 at 2 pm EST.  This year’s roster includes EIGHT Olympians who competed in either the Rio or Tokyo Olympics! 

Camel City Elite will once again feature some of the best prize money in the country, with $6000 for first place, $4000 for second, $2000 for third, $1000 for fourth place and on down to eighth place.  Additionally, there are $1000 time bonuses to the winner in each event as well as $1000 flat track world record bonuses. 

The pro athletes confirmed include the following Olympians:

·         Alex Amankwa (Ghana) – competing in the 800

·         Sam Atkin (Great Britain) – competing in the 3000

·         Charlie Grice (Great Britain) – competing in the Mile

·         Jessica Hull (Australia) – competing in the 3000 and Mile

·         Jesus Tonatiu Lopez (Mexico) – competing in the 800

·         Clayton Murphy (United States) – competing in the 800 and Mile

·         Rachel Schneider (United States) – competing in the 3000 and Mile

·         Ajee’ Wilson (United States) – competing in the 800

Additionally, the other pros include Maddie Kopp (pacer), Charlene Lipsey and Hannah Segrave in the women’s 800.  Sammy George (pacer) and Elly Henes will be competing in the women’s 3000 and mile.  Emily Richards is also in the women’s mile. 

On the men’s side, Charles Shimukowa will be pacing the men’s 800.  Vincent Ciattei, Graham Crawford, Willy Fink will be in the men’s mile.  Jackson Lewis will be pacing both the men’s 3000 and mile.  The men’s 3000 will also feature Casey Comber,  and Craig Nowak. 

Murphy and Wilson both set flat track “world records” here at the 2019 event, with Murphy running 1:45.92 and Wilson running 1:59.26 for the 800 for their respective genders.  The 2022 races will also feature the defending champ in 5 of the 6 events.  Segrave will defend her women’s 800 title, Schneider will defend both the women’s 3000 and mile titles, Craig Nowak will defend the men’s 3000 title, and Willy Fink comes in after winning the last two Camel City Elite mile races! 

According to facility director and elite athlete coordinator Craig Longhurst, this is one of the strongest international fields at Camel City Elite.  Jessica Hull holds Australian national records at 1500m, 3000m and 5000m.  Jesus Tonatiu Lopez is the Mexican national record holder at 800m and was an Olympic semi-finalist in Tokyo.  “We have had many international athletes at Camel City before, but I can’t remember a year where we had Olympians from four other countries represented.  It’s wonderful to give this type of exposure to international athletes to the fans in the area.” 

In addition to the pros, Camel City Elite will also feature some of the top NCAA Division I and Division II athletes in the country.  Schools with confirmed athletes in the elite sections will include Division I schools Campbell, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Furman, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, NC State, North Carolina, North Florida, Texas, UMass Lowell, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.  Division II schools will include Lee (Tenn), Queens and Wingate. 

According Longhurst, these are some of the top collegiate fields at Camel City.  “We are always excited about the professional athletes that we can bring in, but this year’s college fields are the deepest we have had.  The collegians seem to get faster each year, and this year is no exception.  The pros are really going to have to be on their toes.”  The collegians include multiple sub-4:00 milers and the national champion NC State Wolfpack women’s cross country team members. 

This year, Camel City Elite will feature middle school mile races for both boys and girls in the program.  One of the ideas is to get more community engagement around the event, but the races also feature a second purpose.  With multiple athletes attempting to compete in two Camel City Elite events, adding the middle school mile races will provide them with a little more rest opportunity between races.  Each of the middle school mile races will feature approximately 15 athletes who were all provided complimentary entry to compete. 

Admission for the event is $10 for adults, $5 for students and kids 12 and under are FREE.  Winston-Salem is currently under an indoor mask mandate, so all spectators must wear a mask unless actively eating or drinking. 

Camel City Elite will be streamed live online at www.jdlfasttrack.com as part of the RunnerSpace +Plus subscription package which starts at $12 a month. 

ABOUT JDL FAST TRACK (www.jdlfasttrack.com) 

JDL Fast Track is a privately owned facility that is one of the premier indoor track and field venues in the southeast. Opened in 2012, the facility houses a 200-meter oval track with a Mondotrack FTX surface—the same surface used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With a seating capacity of 1,700, ten HD televisions showing real-time field event results, and five high definition projector screens for video playback, JDL Fast Track offers fans a unique track and field experience. 

To date, JDL Fast Track has hosted four national championships:  2014 NCAA Division II, 2015 NCAA Division III, 2015 and 2019 USATF Masters Indoor and 2016 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  JDL Fast Track is currently slated to host the 2020 NCAA Division III National Championships.