Courtesy: USATF

Fresh off her second world-best run of the 2002 Indoor season, Regina Jacobs on Monday said she is looking forward to the 2002 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Jacobs, who will compete in the women's mile, announced at a meeting of the Track Writers Association of Metropolitan New York that the meet will be the final USA Indoor Championship meet of her career.

Jacobs will make her final appearance at the Armory Track & Field Center, where on Saturday she shattered the indoor world best for three miles, finishing in 14 minutes, 44.11 seconds, at the Evian Mayor's Trophy Meet. The 1995 World Indoor 1,500m champion, Jacobs also set a world- best time of 9:23.38 for two miles at the adidas Boston Indoor Games in January.

A longtime advocate of fitness and high school track and field, the 38-year-old Jacobs is especially pleased that her final USA Indoor Championships race will come at the Armory, known as the indoor high school track capital of the country.

"It's important," Jacobs said of taking her indoor curtain-call at the Armory. "We don't have anything like the Armory in our area, where there is that much care in making sure the facility shines every day, for the kids. When I was growing up in Los Angeles, I went through a couple of years where believe it or not I starting turning in Ds and Fs. [Jacobs is a graduate of Stanford University.] I was becoming a serious academic problem. It had nothing to do with my ability, it had to do with the feeling that people didn't care about me.

"The Armory is a place kids can come to and know they're cared about and they're nurtured. It's not just track, but the computer center and everything else the (Armory) Foundation does."

Jacobs and her husband and coach, Tom Craig, spoke glowingly of the Armory and their involvement with the Armory Foundation. In addition to providing the fans and athletes in attendance with a world-best performance, the couple donated money to the Armory Foundation and New York Road Runners programs benefiting children.

"She gave a world best to the Armory and a world best to the kids," Craig said. "This is our last look at indoors. This is our New York extravaganza and we're having a blast."

Jacobs did leave open the possibility of one more invitational indoor appearance, at the 2003 Verizon Millrose Games. She plans to continue competing in outdoor track but deems a run at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens unlikely.

For more information about the 2002 USATF Indoor Championships, visit the USATF Web site at www.usatf.org.