Gomez's masters 5km win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the overall men's title at the USATF Masters 5km Cross Country Championships, Chris Gomez (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 36th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Gomez, 40, covered the hilly course at altitude in Boulder, Colorado, in 16:35 to win by three seconds. Better known as a trail runner who has had great success in Northern Arizona, winning six Soulstice 11-mile titles since 2011, Gomez outran marathoner Anthony Bruns and road specialist Adam Rich. Rich had an early lead through the course's first loop, but Gomez and Bruns moved past him and on the final loop Gomez put in a strong kick to pull away from Bruns heading to the finish line.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Biya Simbassa moved to No. 5 on the all-time U.S. men's performer list in the half marathon with his 60:37 at Valencia, Spain. Simbassa improved his PB by 26 seconds.
• Ann Kirkpatrick, 40, was the women's overall USATF Masters 5km Cross Country champion, clocking 19:21 to win by 31 seconds.

Now in its 21st 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.

2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis; August 17, Grant Fisher; August 24, Kara Winger; August 31, Alicia Monson; September 7, Kara Winger; September 14, Joe Kovacs; September 21, Biya Simbassa; September 28, Garrett Heath; October 4, Hillary Bor; October 11, Emily Sisson; October 18, Katelyn Tuohy; October 25, Chris Gomez.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.

Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.

Photo Credit: Dave Albo