Johnson's American mile record earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the American women's record in the mile*, Sinclaire Johnson (Portland, OR/USATF Oregon) earned recognition as the 28th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025.

The sixth-place finisher in the 1500 at the World Championships in 2022 and at this year's World Indoor Championships, Johnson trimmed .03 off Nikki Hiltz's ratified American record with a 4:16.32 to place fourth at the London Diamond League meet.

Johnson stayed in the front half of the pack through 800, going by in 2:06.8 in fifth. She dropped back one place to sixth at 1000 in 2:39.6 and then moved past Ethiopia's Birke Haylom and Italy's Marta Zenoni on the final circuit. With her time, Johnson took over the No. 14 spot on the all-time world performer list.

Other top performances from last week:

• Kathy Bergen, 85, set two women's world masters 85-89 records at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships, running 17.97 in the 100 and clearing 1.01/3-3.25 in the high jump.
• Lynn Rathjen, 80, set American men's 80-84 records in the 800 and 1500 at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships. Rathjen ran 2:48.64 in the 800 and 5:44.41 in the 1500.

* – all American records subject to verification by USATF Records Committee

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; May 20, Jaydin Blackwell; May 27, Jonah Koech; June 3, Anna Hall; June 10, Jane Hedengren; June 17, Nico Young; June 24, Cooper Lutkenhaus; July 1, Chase Jackson; July 8, Rudy Winkler; July 15, Quincy Wilson; July 22, Sinclaire Johnson.

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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