INDIANAPOLIS -- Becoming the first American woman since 2018 to make the podium at the NYC Marathon, Jessica McClain (Phoenix, AZ/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 38th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
McClain, who was seventh in the half marathon at September's World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, pushed past Kenya's Hellen Obiri in the final stretch to take second in 2:24:42. She was with the pack through a slowish first 10K in 35:46, and hit the halfway mark in the lead at 1:13:52.
Hitting 30K in fifth at 1:44:03, McClain was still a stride out of the lead, and she went with Obiri and eventual winner Sheila Chepkirui as they started to pull away from the field in the final 5K. Four seconds behind the Kenyan duo at 40K, McClain never gave up and used a strong kick on the uphill finish to move past Obiri steps before the line to beat her by a second. Other top performances from last week:
Daniel Romanchuk battled Switzerland's Marcel Hugh right to the finish in the NYC Marathon men's wheelchair division, clocking 1:28:14 to fall only a second short of victory. Tatyana McFadden finished second in the women's wheelchair division at the NYC Marathon with a 1:48:28 effort.
Zouhair Talbi was the top U.S. men's finisher at the NYC Marathon, running 2:06:43 to take sixth overall.
Jane Hedengren won the women's individual title at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships by 10 seconds in 19:28 to lead her BYU squad to the team title. Now in its 25th 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.
2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker; February 26, Cynthia McNamee; March 5, Chase Jackson; March 12, Lauren Harris; March 19, Garrett Kaalund; March 26, Cooper Lutkenhaus; April 2, Rudy Winkler; April 9, Max Thomas; April 16, Sam Mattis; April 23, Tahmar Upshaw; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 7, Karissa Schweizer; May 14, Anna Cockrell; May 21, Tatyana McFadden; May 28, Masai Russell; June 4, Joe Kovacs; June 11, Gabby Thomas; June 25, Tate Taylor; July 1, Jamal Britt; July 8, Nikki Hiltz; July 15, Jamal Britt; July 22, Cierra Jackson; July 29, Noah Lyles; August 13, Tate Taylor; August 27, Ethan Strand; September 3, Masai Russell; September 10, Chase Jackson; September 17, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden; September 24, Emma Grace Hurley; October 8, Aidan Troutner; October 15, Clayton Young; October 29, Suzanne la Burt; November 5, Jessica McClain.
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.