INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the women's American record* in the 100-meter hurdles, Masai Russell (Upper Marlboro, MD/USATF Potomac Valley) earned recognition as the 17th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025. Kicking off the first day of the Grand Slam Track Miami meet in Miramar, Florida, the Olympic champion blasted out of the blocks and sped to a 12.17 to win and better the ratified American record of 12.20, set in 2016 by Keni Harrison. Taking advantage of the maximum allowable aiding wind of 2.0 meters per second on the lightning-fast Miramar track, Russell clocked the second fastest time in history, behind only the world record of 12.12 that was set by Nigeria's Tobi Amusan at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.
Other top performances from last week:
Josette Andrews won the women's USATF 5Km Championships in Indianapolis in 15:06 in her road debut at the distance.
Olin Hacker won the men's USATF 5Km Championships in Indianapolis in 13:32.
Cordell Tinch won the men's 110 hurdles at the Shanghai Diamond League meet in a world-leading 12.87 to move to No. 4 on the all-time world performer list.
Tate Taylor of Harlan High School in San Antonio won the Texas 6A boys 100 in 9.92 to better the American U20 record and set a national high school record. He came back to win the 200 in 20.14 and became the No. 3 all-time prep performer.
Chase Jackson won the women's shot put at the Shanghai Diamond League meet with a 20.54/67-4.75 that was the fifth-farthest throw ever by an American.
Biya Simbassa bettered the American men's record for 10Km on the road with a 27:32 in Tokyo.
Neville Davey bettered the American men's 50-54 road mile record with a 4:37.5 at the Mile of Truth in Danville, California. That age graded to 94.74% and sliced .5 seconds off the ratified record.
Jaime Heilpern bettered the American men's 55-59 road mile record by 3.6 seconds with a 4:43.4 (age grade 97.18%) at the Mile of Truth in Danville, California.
* – all American records are subject to verification by the 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.
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.
Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.
Photo Credit: Kevin Morris