The year’s best athletes, performances and Hall of Fame inductees honored at USATF Night of Legends

RENO - USA Track & Field (USATF) celebrated the best in sport by honoring 2019 Athletes of the Year, Hall of Fame inductees, and individual and current Outdoor U.S. world record holders at the 2019 USATF Night of Legends on Saturday in Reno, Nevada.
 
Hosted by Sanya Richards-Ross and Todd Harris, the red carpet evening featured appearances by Olympic gold medalists Brianna McNeal and Kerron Clement, Olympian Kara Winger, Olympic bronze medalist Emma Coburn, and more. 
 
The celebrations began by paying tribute to individual and current Outdoor U.S. world record holders (in events recognized by the Olympic Games). Team USATF currently holds eight world records in individual Outdoor events, five Outdoor relay, and eight Indoor. Of particular note, the U.S. holds records in all outdoor hurdles events. 
 
Special honorees included Florence Griffith-Joyner, Keni Harrison, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Aries Merritt, Dalilah Muhammad, Mike Powell and Kevin Young.
 
USATF proudly inducted the National Track & Field Hall of Fame class of 2019 during USATF Night of Legends. Honorees included three-time Olympic gold medalist Steve Lewis, Olympic and World Championships silver medalist Sandra Farmer-Patrick, former world record holder and two-time Olympic bronze medalist John Powell and Atoms Track Club founder and coach Fred Thompson. Coach Thompson was represented by former athlete and friend Lynnette Diaz-Miller, who shared how the illustrious coach inspired so many. 
 
“Freddy didn’t just want us to succeed on the track, he cared more about us succeeding in life,” she remarked. 
 
Similarly, Farmer-Patrick noted how track and field opened doors for her by providing access to education. “Learning is a lifelong process, and education gives you options,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to be unique and break boundaries.”
 
The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award was presented to Dalilah Muhammad, who broke a 16-year-old world record enroute to winning the 400m hurdles title at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, and then broke her own world record again at the IAAF World Championships in Doha.
 
Fellow 2019 World Champion Donavan Brazier received the Jesse Owens Award as the year’s most outstanding male athlete. Brazier smashed the 600m world indoor best at the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships before claiming the U.S. 800m outdoor title and then the American record and gold medal in Doha.
 
Youth Athlete of the Year Athing Mu accepted her award  and then broke some surprising news. The high school junior, who set an American record en route to claiming the 600m title against a stellar elite field at the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships, announced that she has committed to attend Texas A&M University.
 
Jeannie Rice received of the Masters Athlete of the Year after setting a Masters age-group half-marathon World Record with a time of 1:37:07, received her award from USATF Master’s Long Distance Running Committee Chair, Mary Rosado.
 
Nike Coach of the Year Lawrence “Boogie” Johnson, who coached Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad to a world record-breaking season this year, accepted his award and credited those who came before him as inspiration. 
 
The fans voted for Wing Awards to recognize performances from World Championships. The winners were:

• World Championships Wing Award Best Field Performance -  Joe Kovacs
• World Championships Wing Award Best Track Performance - Nia Ali
• World Championships Wing Award Best Rookie Performance - Grant Holloway

The evening concluded with a proclamation by USATF President Vin Lananna to officially induct the Class of 2019 into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. 
USATF Annual Meeting continues Sunday with Closing Session. Follow #USATF19 on social media for live updates.