Diggs' American record* earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering the American indoor record in the women's 400m at the Southeastern Conference Championships, Talitha Diggs (Gainesville, Florida/USATF Florida) earned recognition as the seventh USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023.
 
Diggs, last year's USATF Outdoor Championships winner and a gold medalist on the Team USATF 4x400m relay at the World Championships in Eugene, was dominant on the oval at the University of Arkansas, clocking 50.15 to better the ratified indoor AR of 50.34, set in 2018 by Kendall Ellis of USC at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.
 
Winning the event by more than a half-second, Diggs also claimed the collegiate record, which had been lowered to 50.33 earlier in the afternoon at the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas. The daughter of Team USATF middle distance legend Joetta Clark-Diggs, Diggs also leads the U.S. indoor list in the 200m this season with a 22.61 best.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Ben Bruce won the men's USATF Masters 5km Championships in 15:07, breaking the course record in Atlanta by more than 30 seconds and winning the race by almost a minute.
• Aliphine Tuliamuk won the women's USATF Half Marathon Championships at Fort Worth by 14 seconds in 69:37, her seventh career USATF title.
• Jacob Thomson won a very close men's USATF Half Marathon Championships race in Fort Worth with a 62:38 as the first three finishers were within a second of each other.
• Grant Holloway won the men's 60m hurdles at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour - Gold meet in a world-leading 7.35, earning the overall Tour title with a time that only he and two other men have ever bettered.

*Subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee
 
Now in its 22nd year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.

Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.
 
Photo credit: Gabriella Whisler/UAA Communications