Stevens’ race walk record earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering the American record* in the women’s 35 km race walk by more than 10 minutes on the day before her 39th birthday, Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, California) earned recognition as the 16th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Stevens, an Olympian in the 20 km race walk last summer, took almost 12 minutes off her own lifetime best for the 35 km distance with a 2:49:29 at Dudince, Slovakia, and finished fifth in a talented international field. Along the way she also bettered American records at 25 km and 30 km.
 
Moving up to 19th on the world list for 2022, Stevens took a huge chunk off the pending American record of 3:00:18 that was set in January by Miranda Melville. Katie Burnett’s 3:00:43 from 2017 is the current ratified AR.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Jesse Davis won the men's USATF Masters 10 km Championships, setting a masters course record with his 32:08. It was his third national title during the current masters Grand Prix season.
• Scott Fauble was the top American men's finisher at the Boston Marathon with a personal best of 2:08:52 to place seventh. That time moved him to No. 9 on the all-conditions all-time U.S. performer list.
• Nell Rojas ran a 2:25:57 and took 10th at the Boston Marathon, the highest-placing American woman. Her time put her at No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list for the Boston race.
• Cambrea Sturgis clocked a world-leading 10.87 in the women's 100m at the Aggie Classic in North Carolina.
• Khallifah Rosser ran a world-leading 48.26 in the men's 400m hurdles at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco.
• Nick Christie won the USATF 20 km Race Walk Championships men's title by more than five minutes in 1:24:46. It was his 12th career national title.
• Miranda Melville was the women's winner at the USATF 20 km Race Walk Championships, finishing in 1:36:01, almost four minutes in front of the nearest U.S. woman.

*Pending verification by the USATF Records Committee.
 
Now in its 21st 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.
 
2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens.
 
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.
 
Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.

Photo Credit: Getty Images for World Athletics