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June 20, 2025

Young's 5000 record earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the American outdoor record* in the men's 5000, Nico Young (Flagstaff, AZ/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 23rd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025. It is her second time to be honored this year.

Young, a two-time NCAA indoor champion for Northern Arizona and 12th in the 10,000 at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, kicked his way to victory at the Oslo Diamond League meet on June 12, winning in 12:45.27 to take more than a second off the ratified outdoor American record of 12:46.96 that was set in 2022 by Grant Fisher.

The Oslo race was one of the deepest in history as 13 men broke 13:00 and multiple national records were broken. Young's time trails only Fisher's indoor world record of 12:44.09 on the comprehensive all-time U.S. list.

Other top performances from last week:

  • Taylor Roe won the women's title at the USATF 4 Mile Championships in 19:41, the fastest ever by an American.

  • Alex Maier was the USATF 4 Mile Championships men's champion, clocking 18:04.

  • Rai Benjamin won the Stockholm Diamond League men's 400 hurdles in a world-leading 46.54, the 10th-fastest performance ever. His time was also the No. 5 all-time U.S. performance.

  • Isabella Whittaker won the women's 400 at the Oslo Diamond League in 49.58 and Stockholm Diamond League in 49.78.

  • Chase Jackson had the fourth farthest throw ever by an American woman to win the shot put at the Hengelo WCT meet, hitting 20.62/67-8.

  • Frank Zoldak, 58, had the highest age graded score at the USATF Masters 4 Mile Championships, winning the men's 55-59 division in 21:29 to score above 94%.

  • Dylan Blair took gold individually to lead the U.S. boys' team to bronze at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Slovakia. His time of 27:25 on the 5.8Km course gave him a 1:15 margin of victory.

* – 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.

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 X, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.

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