Jackson's Diamond league win earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Winning her first Diamond League meet with a huge lifetime best, Cierra Jackson (Maricopa, AZ/USATF New York) earned recognition as the 27th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.

Jackson, the NCAA champion for Fresno State in 2025, launched the women's discus 71.72/235-4 on her final attempt at the London Diamond League meet to record her first major circuit win and move to No. 2 on the all-time U.S. performer list with the third best American performance ever. Her throw is the farthest outside the Ramona, Oklahoma, facility since 1989.

In winning at London, Jackson handed Olympic and world champion Valarie Sion her first Diamond League loss since July 2023. Her previous best finish at a DL meet was second at the Pre Classic in Eugene last year.

Other top performances from last week:

• Emily Venters won her second straight USATF road race title, taking top honors in the women's 8K Championships by 37 seconds with a 25:05.
• Andrew Colley was the men's winner at the USATF 8K Championships, finishing 34 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger in 22:38.
• Pamela McCartney bettered the world indoor record in the women's 55-59 high jump at the USATF Masters Championships with a clearance at 1.62 meters. The event was moved indoors due to poor air quality due to forest fire smoke. McCartney also won the 300 hurdles in 49.57.
• Sara Schwertfeger, 41, clipped more than a second off the women's 40-44 800 record at the USATF Masters Championships, clocking 2:04.84.
• Brandon Miller won the men's 800 at the London Diamond League meet in a PB of 1:42.19 to move to No. 5 on the all-time U.S. performer list. 

Now in its 25th 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. 

2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker; February 26, Cynthia McNamee; March 5, Chase Jackson; March 12, Lauren Harris; March 19, Garrett Kaalund; March 26, Cooper Lutkenhaus; April 2, Rudy Winkler; April 9, Max Thomas; April 16, Sam Mattis; April 23, Tahmar Upshaw; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 7, Karissa Schweizer; May 14, Anna Cockrell; May 21, Tatyana McFadden; May 28, Masai Russell; June 4, Joe Kovacs; June 11, Gabby Thomas; June 25, Tate Taylor; July 1, Jamal Britt; July 8, Nikki Hiltz; July 15, Jamal Britt; July 22, Cierra Jackson.

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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