NEW YORK, United States (CMC) - Several of the region's track and field athletes are preparing to do battle with some of the world's best, when the 98th edition of the Millrose Indoor games runs off today at Madison Square Garden.

Leading the region's charge will be Athens 1600 metres relay bronze medallist, Jamaican Sandie Richards, who lines up in the women's 400 metres.

Richards, the 2001 World Indoor champion in the quarter-mile event, will do battle with Dee Dee Trotter, the American Olympic and World 4x400 metres gold medallist and 2004 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion.

Guyana's Marian Burnett, who kick-started her 2005 indoor campaign with a third place finish at the Boston Indoor meeting last week, will again line up in the half-mile event, along with teammate Heather Hennigar.

Barbadian national record-holder Sheena Gooding will join them in the 800 metres where American two-time Olympian and national champion Hazel Clark enters as favourite.

Jamaican Vonette Dixon will look to improve on her fifth place finish in Boston a week ago, when she again lines up in the women's 60 metres hurdles event.

Dixon will again have to face American Olympic 100 metres hurdles bronze medallist Melissa Morrison and Canadian Olympic finalist Angela Whyte.

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