INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the world and American U20 indoor records* in the men's 400m, Jonathan Simms (McKinney, TX/USATF Southwestern) earned recognition as the first USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
Simms, a freshman at the University of Georgia, sped around the Clemson oval to clock 44.62 in his collegiate debut, shattering the world U20 indoor record of 44.80 that was set in 2011 by Kirani James of Grenada. He also broke the American U20 indoor record of 44.93, set by LaShawn Merritt in 2005.
Winner of the 400m at the 2025 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, Simms improved on his previous personal best of 45.12 that was set in the summer of 2023 after he won the Texas class 6A state title as a sophomore at Allen High School. He moved to No. 4 on the all-time world indoor performer list and No. 3 on the U.S. all-time indoor performer list.
Other top performances from last week:
Ednah Kurgat was the top American woman at the World Cross Country Championships, placing 10th with a 33:28 10K. That was the highest placing for a U.S. runner since 2011.
Tyler Daillak's 16th-place individual finish led the Team USATF U20 men to bronze at the World Cross Country Championships. Daillak, who lost his shoe and timing chip early in the race, clocked 24:46 for 8K.
Parker Wolfe was 12th in the men's 10K in 29:28 at the World Cross Country Championships, the best finish by an American man since 2017.
Blair Bartlett was the top U20 woman for Team USATF at the World Cross Country Championships with a 20:36 over the 6K course that put her in 16th place.
Zouhair Talbi won the men's title at the Houston Marathon and broke his own course record in 2:05:45 to move to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. performer list.
Nick Christie won the inaugural USATF Marathon Race Walk Championships by more than 20 minutes with a 3:11:12.
Maria Michta-Coffey was the women's champion at the USATF Marathon Race Walk Championships, clocking 3:50:38 to win by more than eight minutes.
* – all American records subject to verification by USATF Records Committee
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.
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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