INDIANAPOLIS -- Anchoring Team USATF to gold in the mixed 4x400 relay at the World Athletics Relays, Lynna Irby-Jackson (Manor, TX/USATF Texas Southern) earned recognition as the 18th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025.
Irby-Jackson, a gold medalist on the U.S. 4x400 at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, secured gold and a meet record of 3:09.54 for the American quartet at Guangzhou, China, with a stellar 49.53 split, the fastest women's carry of the final.
Joined on the winning foursome by Chris Robinson, Courtney Okolo and Johnnie Blockburger, Irby-Jackson's anchor elevated the team to No. 8 on the all-time world performance list and No. 5 on the American all-time performance list.
Other top performances from last week:
Casey Clinger bettered the American men's record in the 25K by 52 seconds with a 1:12:17 at the USATF 25K Championships in Grand Rapids.
Carrie Ellwood won the women's title at the USATF 25K Championships in Grand Rapids by 1:25 with a time of 1:22:27.
Johnnie Blockburger ran the fastest men's split overall to help Team USATF to gold in the mixed 4x400 at the World Athletics Relays, clocking 44.16.
Now in its 24th 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.
2025 Winners: January 15, Zariel Macchia; January 22, Conner Mantz; January 29, Katelyn Tuohy; February 5, Ethan Strand; February 12, Yared Nuguse; February 19, Grant Fisher; February 26, Josh Hoey; March 5, Heather MacLean; March 12, Cole Boone; March 19, Isabella Whittaker; March 26, Claire Bryant; April 2, Curtis Thompson; April 9, Taylor Roe; April 16, Valarie Allman; April 23, Jane Hedengren; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 6, Masai Russell; May 13, Lynna Irby-Jackson.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.
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