INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the women's world record* in the Para T20 5000, Kaitlin Bounds (Russellville, AR/USATF Arkansas) earned recognition as the 16th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025. Bounds, 33, clocked 17:10.74 at the Drake Relays in Des Moines to knock almost seven seconds off the ratified world T20 record of 17:17.30 that was set by Britain's Hannah Taunton in 2020. A scholarship cross country runner at NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech after qualifying for the Arkansas state high school 7A meet in the 1600 and 3200 in 2010, Bounds qualified for the Para World Championships in the 800 and 1500 in 2017, placing fourth in the 800. In 2023 she again earned a berth at the Para World Championships, this time placing sixth in the 1500. That paved the way for her first Paralympics team spot in 2024, and Bounds ran to a sixth-place finish in the 1500 in Paris last September. Other top performances from last week:
Krissy Gear won the USATF Road Mile in 4:23.98, bettering the ratified American record by almost four seconds, and she came back to win the invitational mile at the Drake Relays in 4:23.69.
Alex Maier won the Dusseldorf Marathon in Germany in 2:08.33 to move to No. 9 on the all-time U.S. performer list.
Tia Jones won the Texas Invitational women's 100 hurdles in a world-leading 12.49.
Conner Mantz ran the second-fastest all-conditions marathon by an American man with a 2:05:08 at Boston to place fourth.
Cordell Tinch won the men's 110 hurdles at the Xiamen Diamond League meet in a world-leading 13.06.
* – all Para world records are subject to ratification by World Para Athletics (WPA) 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. 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.