Follow Olympic Voyage of `Armory Ambassadors’ Tully, Dinkins and Merber

Armory Foundation President Dr. Norbert Sander announces standout track & field performers Nicole Tully, Russell Dinkins and Kyle Merber have been selected ‘Armory Ambassadors’ during preparation for  upcoming participation in the U.S. Olympic Trials and  onto Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Tully, Dinkins and Merber’s stories, on and off the track surface, will be chronicled throughout the 2016 season through the eyes of Armorytrack.com, and its Instagram, Facebook and Twitter posting with the hashtag #ArmoryJourneys (The Armory can be followed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @armorynyc). An ongoing compilation of the Armory Journeys social media posts can be found HERE.

All three athletes share in common successful careers on the famed track at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center.

“The Armory Foundation is very excited to engage these outstanding athletes, all contenders for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, as ‘track ambassadors’ to the thousands of young student-athletes who participate together in this great sports arena,” Sander said.  “They are very well-educated young adults who are following their dream and could not be a better model for our youth. We look forward to joining the Olympic journey of Nicole Tully, Russell Dinkins and Kyle Merber as they train and compete on the road to the U.S. Olympic Trials in July and onto the Olympics in Brazil.”

Earlier this month in California at the Payton Jordan Invitational, Tully, the 2015 national champion in the 5,000m, turned in a personal best in the 5,000m with 15:04.08 – the fastest outdoor time by an American and No. 2 in the world this year.

“At Villanova, we felt like the Armory was our ‘home track’ for indoors, even though we were two hours away, and that feeling helped us run some of our best races,” Tully said. 

“My most memorable race at the Armory is really what I consider my ‘breakout race’ in college. I ran 4:35 in the mile and won the Armory Collegiate Invite (used to be New Balance Collegiate Invite). At the time it was a 6 second PR. That was the first race that made me think I could potentially have a career running after college.”

Dinkins, one of the country’s top performers in the 800m, devoted four months last year to prepare for the Olympic Trials at the High Altitude Training Center in Kenya.

“As a kid in the northeast, especially as a kid in high school, I knew The Armory was the place to go if you wanted to run fast,” Dinkins said. “Every year it seemed like someone was breaking a national class record or a national overall record at the facility.  In addition to the fast times and great competition, the meets at The Armory were just plain fun.

“Apart from the great meets The Armory runs, The Armory also provides a space for youth athletes throughout the city to train during the harsh winter months.  While I did not grow up in New York, many of my friends said that The Armory was essential to their athletic development and progression in high school.  While many of us in other states were running around empty high school hallways or shoveling our tracks, many kids in New York are able to go to The Armory for their quality workout sessions.  This, in my opinion, really gives the kids in New York a distinct advantage over high school athletes who cannot train well in the winter due to the weather and their lack of access to quality indoor facilities.”

 Merber specializes in the mile and in 2010 became only the second Ivy League student-athlete to break the 4-mile barrier when he ran 3:58.52 at The Armory.

Their Armory Ambassador roles also include one-on-one involvement with Armory College Prep where they will pass along critical experiences gained from track & field and in the classroom.

Tully is a graduate of Villanova University where she finished Big East runner-up in both the 1000m (indoors) and 1500m (outdoors). Dinkins graduated from Princeton University where he helped the Tigers win an NCAA title in the DMR and was a two-time Ivy League champion in the 800m and three-time champion in the 500m. Merber, a nine-time Ivy League champion, graduated from Columbia University before working on his masters and concluding his NCAA eligibility at the University of Texas in Austin.

“Like track and field itself, The Armory is more than just an arena where kids can test their speed,” Merber said. “It's an opportunity for young athletes to grow and mature by challenging themselves with goals to set. The Armory is truly a part of the local community, and has afforded runners a chance to educate themselves better both in competition and in the classroom. ”

Added Tully: “The Armory is a historic track and field location. It's humbling to know that so many incredible runners have run on that track before me, and so many more incredible runners will run on that track after me. The Armory plays a role in developing all of these runners, and encouraging them to take our sport to the next level.”

The U.S. Olympic Trials will take place July 1-10 in Eugene, Oregon and the 2016 Summer Olympics will be held August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro.

An ongoing compilation of the Armory Journeys social media posts can be found HERE.

Follow The Armory on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @armorynyc.