GAINSVILLE, Fla. and BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, April 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This weekend, thousands of track and field athletes at two meets around 1,500 miles apart will have something in common: Mondo track surfaces.
During the 76th running of the Pepsi Florida Relays at the University of Florida April 2-4, high-school, collegiate, Olympic and professional athletes from nearly 300 college and club track programs and 320 high schools will be competing on a Mondotrack surface. This ever-growing meet is one of the nation's premier track and field competitions.
Made by Mondo, the global leader in the track and field, indoor sport and contract flooring markets, the Mondotrack at the school's James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track is the facility's second Mondo surface. Before that, the stadium had a urethane track that had been resurfaced four times in 12 years costing an average of $300,000 per resurfacing.
The other event of the weekend taking place on a Mondo surface is the CARIFTA Games, the Caribbean's largest and most-anticipated track and field event. The 44th running of this international competition April 3-6 will see athletes from 24 countries associated with the Caribbean Free Trade Association take their marks at Silver Jubilee Athletic Stadium in Basseterre, St. Kitts, on a Mondo Super X Performance track.
"When venues that host major track and field meets need to replace their tracks, they turn to Mondo because our surfaces are durable, ideal for both training and high-performance competition, and let athletes achieve their best times," said Michael Tovar, director, track & field, North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) for Mondo. "That's why more than 250 world records have been set on tracks made by Mondo."
About Mondo's Tracks
The competition track of the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games, Mondotrack builds on the success of the company's renowned Mondo's Super X Performance track. Designed for superior athletic performance, Mondotrack provides optimal traction and a greater contact area than other tracks. It converts the maximum amount of force generated by athletes' foot strikes to energy for maximum energy return, which helps athletes achieve faster times compared to running on other surfaces.
The world's top track for more than 30 years, the Super X Performance track is recognized as one of the fastest, most durable and environmentally safest tracks available. An official track surface of eight Olympic Games through 2004 and the competition track from 1992 to 2004, Super X Performance was designed to provide consistent performance throughout its life. Ideal for both training and high-performance competition, the track is renowned for its shock absorption and optimal energy return, and its ideal blend of speed and comfort minimizes the occurrence of injuries.
About Mondo
Mondo is the global leader in the track and field, indoor sport and contract flooring markets, manufacturing flooring surfaces for virtually every application. More than 1,100 Mondo tracks and millions of square feet of the company's high-performance athletic surfaces are installed worldwide.
An official supplier of athletic tracks for the past 10 Olympic Games, Mondo also is the official supplier or sponsor of more than 100 sports federations and associations.
A family-owned business since its founding in 1948, the company sells its products in more than 196 countries through Mondo-owned manufacturing companies in Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and China. For news updates, visit mondoworldwide.com and like Mondo America's Facebook page.
Mondo is a registered trademark of Mondo.