Kipchirchir, Kelley earn Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- A U.S.-leading run in the 10,000m earned Shadrack Kipchirchir (Colorado Springs, Colorado) USATF Athlete of the Week, while Johnny Kelley was selected by fans as the winner of the 29th USATF Throwback Athlete of the Week award for setting an American best in the men’s marathon on October 11, 1958. In the absence of regular competition during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are taking a weekly look back at some of the great efforts by American track and field athletes through the years.
 
Kipchirchir, a 2016 Olympian and three-time World Championships 10,000m veteran, ran the third-fastest time of his career for 25 laps at Valencia, Spain, clocking 27:28.97 to place third behind world record-setting Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda. Kipchirchir’s time is the fastest by an American this year, more than 20 seconds ahead of the next man on the list.
 
The younger of the two Johnny Kelleys to have won the Boston Marathon, John Joseph Kelley set an American best of 2:20:56 to win the New Jersey International marathon at Jersey City. Already a 1956 Olympian, where he finished 21st at Melbourne, and the winner of the 1957 Boston Marathon, Kelley crushed the field in Jersey City with a victory margin of almost 10 minutes.
 
In addition to his Boston win in ‘57, Kelley finished second five times from 1956-64 and ran the race 32 times. He was the 1959 Pan American Games marathon champion and took U.S. titles at 15K, 20K, 25K and 30K in his career. From 1956-63 Kelley won eight straight AAU national marathon championships at the Yonkers Marathon in New York.
 
Following his retirement from the sport, Kelley taught and coached cross country at a high school in Groton, Connecticut, and was co-owner of a running wear store. He was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2002.
 
Other historical performances of note from the October 5-11 period in USATF history:
 

• October 5 — Arthur Duffey =American record in men’s 100y, 9 4/5 at Louisville, Kentucky in 1901
• October 6 — P. Johnson American best in men’s long jump, 6.24m/20-6 at Boston, Massachusetts in 1877
• October 7 — Billy Page American best in men’s high jump, 1.93m/6-4 at Philadelphia in 1887
• October 8 — Jim Mitchell American record in men’s hammer, 44.21m/145-0 at New York City in 1892
• October 10 — Martin Sheridan American record in men’s discus, 43.54m/142-10 at New York City in 1909

 
Other notable performances from the past week included:

• Eric Jenkins won the Wigan Fast 5K men’s road race in England in 13:52

 
Now in its 19th 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 and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
 
2020 Winners: January 9, Miranda Melville; January 16, Paul Perry; January 23, Natosha Rogers; January 30, Tyler Day, February 6, Devin Dixon; February 13, Elle Purrier; February 20, Tori Franklin; February 27, Sandi Morris; March 4, Abdi Abdirahman; March 12 Marielle Hall; March 19, Tim Tollefson; April 2, Louise Ritter; April 9, Francie Larrieu Smith; April 16, Erin Gilreath; April 23, Suzy Powell; April 30, Joe Dial; May 7, Dawn Ellerbe; May 14, Ramona Pagel; May 21, Brian Oldfield; May 28, Jackie Joyner-Kersee; June 4, Jesse Owens; June 11, Mary Decker Slaney; June 18, Leroy Burrell; June 25, Sandra Farmer-Patrick; July 2, Jim Ryun; July 9, Evelyn Ashford; July 16, Wilma Rudolph & Shelby Houlihan; July 23, Pat Daniels & Ryan Crouser; July 30, Michael Norman & Mildred “Babe” Didriksen; August 6, Valarie Allman & Parry O’Brien; August 13, Sara Hall & Kevin Young; August 20, Justin Robinson & Jackie Joyner-Kersee; August 27, Donavan Brazier & Renaldo Nehemiah; September 3, Ryan Crouser & Mike Powell; September 10, Ryan Crouser & Wilma Rudolph; September 17, Rudy Winkler & Kate Schmidt; September 24, Ryan Crouser & Jay Silvester; October 1, Payton Chadwick & Carl Lewis; October 8, Sara Hall & Florence Griffith Joyner; October 15, Shadrack Kipchirchir & Johnny J. Kelley.
 
We welcome your nominations!
 
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.
 
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