New York’s Finest is now New York’s “fastest.”
Runners for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) defeated the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) and claimed the coveted title of “New York’s Fastest” at the 104th Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on January 28.
The “New York’s Fastest” 4×1 one-lap relay race pitted runners from New York’s Finest against runners from New York’s Bravest for the first time ever at the Millrose Games – The NYPD posted a winning time of 1:13.82.
Outside the track lines, competition became charity as performance apparel company Under Armor, the relay’s sponsor, donated $5,000 to the Police Athletic League and $2,500 to the FDNY Foundation.
“The FDNY vs. NYPD Relay Challenge at Madison Square Garden is the return of one of New York City’s greatest rivalries,” said Norb Sander, president of the Armory, the owner of the Millrose Games. “The Garden track was truly on fire for this super intense relay race.”
The event was the first stop on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series. More than 13,000 fans attended the Games and it was nationally televised on ESPN 2. Giving police officers and firefighters a chance to compete against one another was important to USA Track & Field, as it displayed New York toughness to track fans everywhere.
“The Millrose Games is a quintessential New York event, and this year we placed special emphasis on reconnecting the meet to the city,” said USA Track & Field chief public affairs officer Jill Geer. “Few things are as authentically New York as the fire and police departments. We were thrilled to bring their rivalry to Madison Square Garden and to have them be an important part of the world’s most historic track meet.”
The Armory is a non-profit organization that hosts more than 100 indoor track and field meets each year with over 125,000 individual athletes. For information about The Armory and other track and field meets, visit them at www.armorytrack.com.
