INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering his own WPA world record* in the T38 men's 400, Jaydin Blackwell (Oak Park, MI/USATF Michigan) earned recognition as the 19th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025.
Blackwell zipped to a 48.26 to win the Cali (Colombia) Grand Prix and trim .23 seconds off the 48.49 world record that he set in 2023 and tied last year at the Paralympics in Paris. The 21-year-old from Michigan, who competed collegiately for Purdue University Northwest, took gold in the T38 100 at Paris last summer in a world record time of 10.64 and added another victory in the 400.
A four-time gold medalist at the Para World Championships, Blackwell mounted the victory stand in the 100 and 400 in 2023 and 2024. He also won U.S. Para titles in both events in 2023.
Other top performances from last week:
Meghan Hunter of BYU moved to No. 3 on the all-time collegiate performer list in the women's 800 with a 1:58.99 at the Big 12 Championships.
Washington's Amanda Moll set an outdoor collegiate record in the women's pole vault with a 4.78/15-8.25 at the Big 10 Championships. She holds the indoor CR at 4.91/16-1.25.
Micah Danzy of Florida State became the third-fastest American in the U20 400 with a 44.38 to win the ACC Championships. That time also made him the No. 7 all-time world U20 performer.
JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina won the 100 and 200 at the SEC Championships and also picked up relay gold in the 4x100 and 4x400. Her 22.01 in the 200 made her the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer.
* – subject to ratification by World Para Athletics
Now in its 24th 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.
2025 Winners: January 15, Zariel Macchia; January 22, Conner Mantz; January 29, Katelyn Tuohy; February 5, Ethan Strand; February 12, Yared Nuguse; February 19, Grant Fisher; February 26, Josh Hoey; March 5, Heather MacLean; March 12, Cole Boone; March 19, Isabella Whittaker; March 26, Claire Bryant; April 2, Curtis Thompson; April 9, Taylor Roe; April 16, Valarie Allman; April 23, Jane Hedengren; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 6, Masai Russell; May 13, Lynna Irby-Jackson; May 20, Jaydin Blackwell.
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.
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