Brazier, Kovacs, Wilson, Felix And Others Share Details At NYRR Millrose Games Press Conference 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

With World Athletics pulling the plug on the World Indoor Championships, the 113th NYRR Millrose Games might be the best indoor meet in the world in 2020.

With 29 Olympians and a handful of world champions in attendance, the stars will be out Saturday at The Armory.

NYRR MILLROSE GAMES LIVE VIEWING INFO

At Friday’s press conference, moderator Ian Brooks coaxed a few rarely publicized details about home life, training and future aspirations from a half dozen of the meet’s top stars.

Here are a few of those nuggets.

Brazier’s Megatron Dream

Donavan Brazier enjoyed a watershed moment at the World Championships in October in Doha when he became the world champion in the 800 meters and broke Johnny Gray’s long-standing American record.

But if he could pick his own spot in the sporting landscape, he’d run much shorter routes as a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions.

Brazier revealed that he would love the opportunity to “try out” the NFL after a couple of more track seasons.

That might go as well as NFL players who say they want to “try out” for the Olympic team.

Asked what he’d like to do in the future, Brazier looked beyond Saturday’s matchup with Bryce Hoppel toward a dream of playing football.

“I think of anything else I’m good at so I don’t have to do track,” Brazier said. “The first thing I think of is NFL wide receiver. That would be my dream, that after 2020 or after 2021 Eugene, I’d try out for the NFL.

“I want to play for Detroit,” said the Michigan native. “I grew up watching Calvin Johnson (aka 'Megatron'). He’s the guy I looked up to as a wide receiver. I want to follow in his footsteps.”

Mountain Morris

Asked to consider her thoughts on life after pole vault, Sandi Morris offered an idea equally as out there as Brazier.

“I always say I’m going to disappear into the mountains to raise goats,” she said.

The newlywed said that might cause some trouble in her marriage. Her husband, Tyrone Smith, enjoys the company of human beings.

“He likes the city,” she said.

Morris and Smith spend most of their time living apart. Smith lives in Austin, Texas and Morris is a short airplane ride away, in Fayetteville, Ark.

“I’ve got a husband on the weekends and the rest of the week I do whatever I want,” she said.

Ajee’s First Win Was Against Mom

Ajee Wilson is only 25 years old and has been a fixture at the Armory, and at the NYRR Millrose Games, for many years.

The cover subject of this year’s meet program, Wilson has four 800-meter victories to her credit at Millrose and in 2018 she was part of a world record 4x800 relay.

But at the beginning of her running life, as a little girl in New Jersey, Wilson raced her mom and dad.

“My parents and I used to race every year,” she said. “Every year they would burn us. And one year I remember I beat my mom and that was probably the first race that I won. She stopped racing (at that point). My dad kept racing me for another six years.”

Her parents have been in Wilson’s corner all along.

When she was in high school, they gave her a puppy as a reward for breaking 2:04 in the 800 meters for the first time.

The Key To Willis' Longevity

Nick Willis will go to the starting line of the Wanamaker Mile for a record-tying 18th time Saturday, matching the record for appearances in succession held by the legendary John Walker.

Willis, 36, has never won the race and neither did Walker, who faced the repeated challenge of racing the “Chairman of the Boards,” Eamonn Coghlan, who won seven times.

Willis was prevented from breaking through during some of his peak years by Bernard Lagat, who won eight times.

“It’s silly to stop now,” Willis said. “Maybe I have to come back a couple more years to get to 20. Whether my body will let me is another question.”

Willis said he believes sleep and a built-in day off have been at the heart of his longevity. He won the scholastic national title at the Armory in the mile in 2001.

“I’ve always been one that goes to bed early and wakes up early,” he said. “I always got my nine hours of sleep. And I’ve always taken a day off every week.”

Kovacs' Brute Power And Deft Touch

Shot-putters don’t always like to reveal their PRs in the weight room.

But world champion Joe Kovacs revealed on Friday that his best bench press is a bit more than 600 pounds. That’s about the weight of a large vending machine.

But Kovacs, who will renew his friendly rivalry with Olympic champion Ryan Crouser on Saturday, also said that he checked off one of his bucket-list sports moments when he went golfing with his wife, Ashley, at famed Pebble Beach after the Prefontaine Classic last June at Stanford.

Kovacs birdied the iconic Par-3 seventh hole, which overlooks Pacific Ocean breakers.

“I won’t talk about the other holes,” Kovacs said. “The U.S. Open had just been there and the fairways were still a little tight and tough.”

Allyson Felix’s New Perspectives

As the face of the U.S. Olympic team for more than a decade, Allyson Felix has seen and done nearly everything in the sport of high-profile sprinting.

But motherhood has changed her. She has raised her voice to challenge injustices and shared more of herself and her story with fans.

Camryn, Felix’s year-old daughter, is the veteran star’s new guidepost.

“She’s completely changed my life and motivation and given me a different purpose,” Felix said. “I think about the world she’ll grow up in, and all of the next generation. It changes why I do things, where I put my values. To be the mother of a daughter, it’s a really special time.

“I constantly think about her when I’m training or whatever I’m doing.”