INDIANAPOLIS -- Setting a championship record to win his first USATF road title, Aidan Troutner (Provo, UT/USATF Utah) earned recognition as the 35th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
Troutner, a 27-year-old BYU grad who had a breakthrough performance to place in the top 20 at last year's Chicago Marathon, outkicked a talented field at the USATF 10K Championship in St. Paul, Minnesota, to win in 27:40. His time bettered the previous championships record of 27:49 by Dirk Lakeman in 1986.
A large pack went through two miles in just over nine minutes and then hit the halfway mark at 14:12 with much of the field still in contention. Into the final stretch five men were battling for the win, and Troutner had the best finishing speed to capture his first national title of any kind.
Other top performances from last week:
Dylan Flewelling won the men's USATF 50K Trail Championships in Oregon by more than seven minutes with a time of 3:50:04.
Anna Dalton was the women's winner at the USATF 50K Trail Championships in Oregon with a 4:29:20 that put her more than 26 minutes ahead of the next finisher.
Emily Venters set a championship record with a 31:09 to take top honors at the USATF 10K Championships in St. Paul by 48 seconds.
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; July 29, Noah Lyles; August 13, Tate Taylor; August 27, Ethan Strand; September 3, Masai Russell; September 10, Chase Jackson; September 17, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden; September 24, Emma Grace Hurley; October 8, Aidan Troutner. 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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