Thomas, Miller earn USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — The second-fastest American woman ever at 200m, Gabby Thomas (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern), and the new holder of the world youth best for 100m, Christian Miller (Ponte Vedra, Florida/USATF Florida), earned recognition as the 24th USATF Athlete of the Week award winners for 2023.
 
Thomas, the 2021 Olympic 200m bronze medalist, won the women's 200m at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in a world-leading 21.60. Her time was a meet record, makes her the No. 2 all-time U.S. performer, and moves her to No. 4 on the all-time world performer list. It is also the fastest time ever run in lane eight. Only world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner is above Thomas on the U.S. list, and Thomas's 21.60 is the sixth-fastest all-time performance.
 
Miller, a 17-year-old rising senior at Creekside High School in Florida, zipped to a 10.06 to win the USATF U20 men's 100m title and claim a world U18 best, beating the previous WYB of 10.09 by Thailand's Phooripol Bunson, set in 2022. Miller, who also won the 200m in 20.51, bettered the previous American youth record in the 100m of 10.15 that was set by Anthony Schwartz in 2017.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Rai Benjamin won the men's 400m hurdles in 46.62, the second fastest time ever run by an American behind only his AR of 46.17.
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400m in a world-leading 48.74, the second-fastest time ever run by an American woman. She also became the first woman to win U.S. golds in the 400m and 400m hurdles in a career.
• Katie Moon cleared a world-leading 4.90m/16-0.75 to win the women's pole vault.
• Erriyon Knighton became the youngest man to win a U.S. 100m or 200m title since 1980 when he ran 19.72 to take the 200m gold.
• Elise Cranny won the women's 5,000m and 10,000m, the first woman to turn the distance double since 2016.
• Kenneth Rooks overcame a fall at a barrier early in the men's 3,000m steeplechase to stage a dramatic recovery and sprint to victory in 8:16.78.
• Ryan Crouser won his fourth straight men's shot put title, the first man to do so since the 1950s, and his 22.86m/75-0 winning throw has only ever been equaled or bettered by three other Americans.
• Keira D'Amato bettered the American record in the women's half marathon with a 66:39 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon in Australia.
• Shawnti Jackson set a meet record of 22.48 to win the women's 200m, making her the No. 8 all-time U.S. U20 performer.
• Benjamin Balazs won the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 8:49.64, the fastest time at the U20 championships since the meet record of 8:48.2 was set in 1975.
• Ellie Shea won the women's 1,500m and 3,000m with just over an hour between the two finals.
• Christine Mallard won the women's 400m in 50.74, making her the No. 8 all-time U.S. U20 performer.
• Ryan Duffy won the boys 13-14 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m and high jump at the USATF Youth Championships.
• Alyssa Jones set a meet record of 6.72m/22-0.75 in the women's long jump and also placed fourth in the senior LJ.

Now in its 22nd 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.

2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron; April 4, Hillary Bor; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Britton Wilson; April 25, Brooke Andersen; May 2, Gabby Thomas; May 9, Connor Burns; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Brooke Andersen; May 30, Ryan Crouser; June 6, KC Lightfoot; June 13, Grayson Murphy; June 20, Yared Nuguse; July 17, Gabby Thomas & Christian Miller.

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.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee (left), Jason Suarez (right)