Millrose Games

The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011.^[1]

Millrose Games
Yomif Kejelcha leading the Wanamaker Mile at the 2019 Millrose Games
Date	February
Location	New York City, United States
Event type	Indoor track and field
Established	1908
Organizer	Ray Flynn
Official site	https://millrosegames.org/
2025 Millrose Games

The games were started when employees of the New York City branch of Wanamaker's department store formed the Millrose Track Club to hold a meet.

Today, the Millrose Games feature elite competitions for athletes at all levels, including youth, club, masters, high school, collegiate, and professional levels.^[2]

The featured event is the Wanamaker Mile.

History

2008 Millrose Games

The Millrose Games began in 1908 at a local armory the same year when its parent, the Millrose Athletic Association, was formed as a recreational club by the employees of the John Wanamaker Department Store. "Millrose" was the name of the country home of Rodman Wanamaker in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.

In 1914, after overflowing the armory the year before, the Millrose Games moved to Madison Square Garden, and until 2011 was the oldest continuous sporting event held there. For 10 years beginning in 1916, the Wanamaker 1 ½ Mile race was a highlight of the meet. Run for the last time in 1925, the final edition was won by Paavo Nurmi, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist from Finland. In 1926, the distance was shortened, and the Wanamaker Mile was born. It has often been run at 10 p.m., a carryover from the days beginning in the 1930s when noted sports announcer Ted Husing would broadcast the race live on his 10 p.m. radio show.

The Wanamaker Mile has been won by over 44 different men, including Glenn Cunningham, Kip Keino, Tony Waldrop, Filbert Bayi, Steve Scott, Noureddine Morceli, Bernard Lagat, Marcus O'Sullivan, Ron Delany, and Eamonn Coghlan. Coghlan was known as the “Chairman of the Boards” for his dominance on the old wooden Millrose track and won the mile seven times, a feat surpassed only by Bernard Lagat, who won his eighth Wanamaker Mile in 2010.^[3]

Some highlights in Millrose history include Ray Conger's 1929 upset win over Nurmi in the Wanamaker Mile; pole vaulter Cornelius Warmerdam becoming the first person to vault 15 feet (4.6 m) indoors, in 1942; John Thomas hitting the first 7-foot (2.1 m) high jump, in 1959; Mary Decker’s run to a 1500-meter World Indoor Record to encouragement from the crowd, in 1980; John Uelses becoming the first person to pole vault the height of 16 feet; Carl Lewis in 1984 breaking the World Indoor Record with a jump of 28 feet (8.5 m), 10.25 inches, a mark that still stands; Eamonn Coghlan notching his then record seventh Wanamaker Mile in 1987; Bernard Lagat breaking Coghlan's record with his eighth Wanamaker Mile triumph in 2010, and Stacy Dragila setting a late-night pole vault world record in 2001.

For 70 of its first 96 years, the role of Millrose meet director was a father-son affair: Fred Schmertz directed the meet in 1934, passing on that position to his son Howard in 1975. In 2003, the title of Meet Director Emeritus was bestowed on the younger Schmertz.

In May 2011 Norbert Sanders, the President of the Millrose Games, announced that, starting January 2012, the games would be moved to the Armory in Washington Heights, at 168th Street, and that a new all-day Saturday schedule would replace the Friday evening format.^[4]

The Millrose Games, operated by The Armory Foundation, are also notable for their rigid anti-doping policies. In 2017, Millrose race director Ray Flynn told an ESPN reporter, "We have a mandate that we don't invite any athlete that has had any drug history in their past. We want to keep our meet free of any athlete that really has a violation."^[5]

The Millrose Games were first added to the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Standard in 2022.^[6][7]

At the 2023 Millrose Games, Dr. Anthony Fauci attended and was honored with The Armory's Presidents Award.^[8]

At the 2024 Millrose Games, the President of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, was given The Armory's Presidents Award.^[9]

Editions

Millrose Games Editions Ed. Name Date Ref. 1st 1908 47th Regiment Armory Games 7 Feb 1908 [10] 2nd 1909 47th Regiment Armory Games 16 Jan 1909 [11] 3rd 1910 Wanamaker Games 29 Jan 1910 [12][13] 4th 1911 Millrose Games 22 Feb 1911 [14] 5th 1912 Millrose Games 20 Jan 1912 [15] 6th 1913 Millrose Games 18 Jan 1913 [14] 7th 1914 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1914 [14] 8th 1915 Millrose Games 14 Jan 1915 [14] 9th 1916 Millrose Games 26 Jan 1916 [14] 10th 1917 Millrose Games 24 Jan 1917 [14] 11th 1918 Millrose Games 23 Jan 1918 [14] 12th 1919 Millrose Games 25 Feb 1919 [14] 13th 1920 Millrose Games 10 Feb 1920 [14] 14th 1921 Millrose Games 8 Feb 1921 [14] 15th 1922 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1922 [14] 16th 1923 Millrose Games 31 Jan 1923 [14] 17th 1924 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1924 [14] 18th 1925 Millrose Games 27 Jan 1925 [14] 19th 1926 Millrose Games 4 Feb 1926 [16] 20th 1927 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1927 [16] 21st 1928 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1928 [16] 22nd 1929 Millrose Games 9 Feb 1929 [16] 23rd 1930 Millrose Games 8 Feb 1930 [16] 24th 1931 Millrose Games 7 Feb 1931 [16] 25th 1932 Millrose Games 6 Feb 1932 [16] 26th 1933 Millrose Games 4 Feb 1933 [16] 27th 1934 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1934 [16] 28th 1935 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1935 [16] 29th 1936 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1936 [16] 30th 1937 Millrose Games 6 Feb 1937 [16] 31st 1938 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1938 [16] 32nd 1939 Millrose Games 4 Feb 1939 [16] 33rd 1940 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1940 [16] 34th 1941 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1941 [16] 35th 1942 Millrose Games 7 Feb 1942 [16] 36th 1943 Millrose Games 6 Feb 1943 [16] 37th 1944 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1944 [16] 38th 1945 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1945 [16] 39th 1946 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1946 [16] 40th 1947 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1947 [16] 41st 1948 Millrose Games 31 Jan 1948 [16] 42nd 1949 Millrose Games 29 Jan 1949 [16] 43rd 1950 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1950 [16] 44th 1951 Millrose Games 27 Jan 1951 [16] 45th 1952 Millrose Games 26 Jan 1952 [16] 46th 1953 Millrose Games 29 Jan 1953 [16] 47th 1954 Millrose Games 6 Feb 1954 [16] 48th 1955 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1955 [16] 49th 1956 Millrose Games 4 Feb 1956 [16] 50th 1957 Millrose Games 9 Feb 1957 [16] 51st 1958 Millrose Games 8 Feb 1958 [16] 52nd 1959 Millrose Games 31 Jan 1959 [16] 53rd 1960 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1960 [16] 54th 1961 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1961 [16] 55th 1962 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1962 [16] 56th 1963 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1963 [16] 57th 1964 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1964 [16] 58th 1965 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1965 [16] 59th 1966 Millrose Games 27 Jan 1966 [16] 60th 1967 Millrose Games 26 Jan 1967 [16]

Millrose Games Editions Ed. Name Date Ref. 61st 1968 Millrose Games 25 Jan 1968 [16] 62nd 1969 Millrose Games 31 Jan 1969 [16] 63rd 1970 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1970 [16] 64th 1971 Millrose Games 29 Jan 1971 [16] 65th 1972 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1972 [16] 66th 1973 Millrose Games 26 Jan 1973 [16] 67th 1974 Millrose Games 25 Jan 1974 [16] 68th 1975 Millrose Games 31 Jan 1975 [16] 69th 1976 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1976 [16] 70th 1977 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1977 [16] 71st 1978 Millrose Games 27 Jan 1978 [16] 72nd 1979 Millrose Games 9 Feb 1979 [16] 73rd 1980 Millrose Games 8 Feb 1980 [16] 74th 1981 Millrose Games 6 Feb 1981 [16] 75th 1982 Millrose Games 12 Feb 1982 [16] 76th 1983 Millrose Games 28 Jan 1983 [16] 77th 1984 Millrose Games 27 Jan 1984 [16] 78th 1985 Millrose Games 25 Jan 1985 [16] 79th 1986 Millrose Games 14 Feb 1986 [16] 80th 1987 Millrose Games 30 Jan 1987 [16] 81st 1988 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1988 [16] 82nd 1989 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1989 [16] 83rd 1990 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1990 [16] 84th 1991 Millrose Games 1 Feb 1991 [16] 85th 1992 Millrose Games 7 Feb 1992 [16] 86th 1993 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1993 [16] 87th 1994 Millrose Games 4 Feb 1994 [16] 88th 1995 Millrose Games 3 Feb 1995 [16] 89th 1996 Millrose Games 2 Feb 1996 [16] 90th 1997 Millrose Games 7 Feb 1997 [16] 91st 1998 Millrose Games 13 Feb 1998 [16] 92nd 1999 Millrose Games 5 Feb 1999 [16] 93rd 2000 Millrose Games 4 Feb 2000 [16] 94th 2001 Millrose Games 2 Feb 2001 [16] 95th 2002 Millrose Games 1 Feb 2002 [16] 96th 2003 Millrose Games 7 Feb 2003 [16] 97th 2004 Millrose Games 6 Feb 2004 [16] 98th 2005 Millrose Games 4 Feb 2005 [16] 99th 2006 Millrose Games 3 Feb 2006 [16] 100th 2007 Millrose Games 2 Feb 2007 [16] 101st 2008 Millrose Games 1 Feb 2008 [16] 102nd 2009 Millrose Games 30 Jan 2009 [16] 103rd 2010 Millrose Games 29 Jan 2010 [16] 104th 2011 Millrose Games 28 Jan 2011 [16] 105th 2012 Millrose Games 11 Feb 2012 [16] 106th 2013 Millrose Games 16 Feb 2013 [16] 107th 2014 Millrose Games 15 Feb 2014 [16] 108th 2015 Millrose Games 14 Feb 2015 [16] 109th 2016 Millrose Games 20 Feb 2016 [16] 110th 2017 Millrose Games 11 Feb 2017 [16] 111th 2018 Millrose Games 3 Feb 2018 [16] 112th 2019 Millrose Games 9 Feb 2019 [16] 113th 2020 Millrose Games 8 Feb 2020 [16] 2021 Millrose Games Cancelled due to COVID-19 [17] 114th 2022 Millrose Games 29 Jan 2022 [16] 115th 2023 Millrose Games 11 Feb 2023 [16] 116th 2024 Millrose Games 11 Feb 2024 117th 2025 Millrose Games 8 Feb 2025 Results

Meeting directors

The Millrose Games has had ten meeting directors over its rich history.^[18]

Meet Director	Year(s) Active
Col. Clarence W. Smith	1911
Johnny Fleeson	1912
Andrew Christie	1913-1914
John J. McGowan	1915-1919
John G. Anderson	1920-1933
Fred Schmertz	1934-1974
Howard Schmertz	1975-2003
David Katz	2004-2008
Mark Wetmore	2009-2011
Ray Flynn	2012-present

World records

Over the course of its history, five world records and three world bests have been set at the Millrose Games.

World records & bests set at the Millrose Games

Year	Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality
1984	Long jump	8.79 m	Carl Lewis	United States
1988	Mile walk	5:33.53 [WB]	Tim Lewis	United States
2018	300 m	35.45 [WB]	Shaunae Miller-Uibo	Bahamas
	4 × 800 m relay	8:05.89	Chrishuna Williams Raevyn Rogers Charlene Lipsey Ajeé Wilson	United States
2024	60 m hurdles	7.67	Devynne Charlton	Bahamas
	Two miles	8:00.67 [WB]	Josh Kerr	Great Britain
2025	3000 m	7:22.91	Grant Fisher	United States
	Mile run	3:46.63	Yared Nuguse	United States

Meeting records

Men

Men's meeting records of the Millrose Games

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Ref.
60 m	6.45	Maurice Greene	United States	4 February 2000
300 m	32.35	Rai Benjamin	United States	8 February 2020		[19]
400 m	45.35	Bralon Taplin	Grenada	20 February 2016		[20]
500 m	1:00.06	Brycen Spratling	United States	14 February 2015		[21]
600 y	1:07.53	Mark Everett	United States	7 February 1992
600 m	1:14.04	Will Sumner	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
800 m	1:43.90	Josh Hoey	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
1000 m	2:17.63	Pierre-Ambroise Bosse	France	15 February 2014		[23]
1500 m	3:31.74+	Yared Nuguse	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
Wanamaker Mile	3:46.63	Yared Nuguse	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
2000 m	4:54.74	Bernard Lagat	United States	15 February 2014		[24]
3000 m	7:22.91	Grant Fisher	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
Two miles	8:00.67	Josh Kerr	Great Britain	11 February 2024	2024	[25]
5000 m	13:07.15	Bernard Lagat	United States	11 February 2012		[26][27]
60 m hurdles	7.38	Dylan Beard	United States	8 February 2025		[22]
High jump	2.34 m	Jimmy Howard	United States	26 January 1985
				14 February 1986
Pole vault	5.87 m	Jeff Hartwig	United States	1 February 2002
Long jump	8.79 m WR	Carl Lewis	United States	27 January 1984
Shot put	22.58 m	Ryan Crouser	United States	11 February 2023	2023	[28]
Weight throw	24.82 m	Lance Deal	United States	3 February 1993
Mile walk	5:33.53	Tim Lewis	United States	5 February 1988
4 × 200 m relay	1:26.24	Garden State TC: Rikkoi Brathwaite Nadale Buntin Jae'Len Means Alex Kainer	British Virgin Islands  Saint Kitts and Nevis  United States  United States	11 February 2024	2024	[29]
4 × 400 m relay	3:11.53	Atlantic Coast Club	United States	8 February 1988
4 × 800 m relay	7:21.37	Penn State: Brannon Kidder Casimir Loxsom Za'Von Watkins Ricky West	United States	16 February 2013		[30]
Distance medley relay	9:42.79	NJ/NY TC: Travis Mahoney Ben Scheetz Nick Reid Christian Thompson	United States	16 February 2013		[31]

Women

Women's meeting records of the Millrose Games

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Ref.
60 m	6.99	Julien Alfred	Saint Lucia	11 February 2024	2024	[32]
300 m	35.45 WB	Shaunae Miller-Uibo	Bahamas	3 February 2018		[33]
400 m	50.89	Sanya Richards-Ross	United States	11 February 2012		[34][35]
500 m	1:07.34	Courtney Okolo	United States	11 February 2017		[36]
600 y	1:20.79	Lashinda Demus	United States	1 February 2008
600 m	1:23.59	Alysia Montaño	United States	16 February 2013		[37]
800 m	1:58.29	Ajeé Wilson	United States	8 February 2020		[38]
	1:58.27 X	Ajee' Wilson	United States	11 February 2017		[39]
1500 m	3:59.87+	Konstanze Klosterhalfen	Germany	8 February 2020		[40]
Wanamaker Mile	4:16.41	Elinor Purrier	United States	11 February 2024	2024	[41]
3000 m	8:25.05	Alicia Monson	United States	11 February 2023	2023	[42]
Two miles	9:04.84	Laura Muir	Great Britain	11 February 2024	2024	[43]
	9:04.39[a]	Medina Eisa	Ethiopia	11 February 2024	2024	[44]
5000 m	14:57.18	Betsy Saina	United States	20 February 2016		[45]
60 m hurdles	7.67	Devynne Charlton	Bahamas	11 February 2024	2024	[46]
High jump	2.00 m	Yaroslava Mahuchikh	Ukraine	11 February 2024	2024	[47]
Pole vault	4.91 m	Sandi Morris	United States	8 February 2020		[48]
Long jump	7.00 m	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	United States	7 February 1992
Triple jump	12.40 m	Sydnee Burr	United States	11 February 2024	2024	[49]
Shot put	20.03 m	Chase Ealey	United States	11 February 2023	2023	[50]
Weight throw	24.19 m	Amber Campbell	United States	29 January 2010
Mile walk	6:17.29	Rachel Seaman	Canada	15 February 2014		[51][52]
4 × 200 m relay	1:36.30	Garden State TC: Taylor Anderson Felicia Brown Edwards Gabrielle Farquharson Haisha Bisiolu	United States	11 February 2023	2023	[53]
4 × 400 m relay	3:40.51	Atoms Track Club	United States	27 January 1984
4 × 800 m relay	8:05.89 WR	Chrishuna Williams Raevyn Rogers Charlene Lipsey Ajeé Wilson	United States	3 February 2018		[54]
Distance medley relay	11:14.16	NJ/NY TC: Heather Wilson Danielle Tauro Kimmara McDonald Caroline King	United States	16 February 2013		[55]

Notes

1. later disqualified due to lane infringement