Kovacs' Diamond League win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Recording the third farthest men's shot put throw ever to win the Diamond League title, Joe Kovacs (Brentwood, Tennessee/USATF New York) earned recognition as the 30th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
The silver medalist at the 2022 World Championships and last summer's Olympic Games, Kovacs blasted a 23.23m/76-2.75 on his second attempt in Zurich to turn back world and Olympic champion and world record holder Ryan Crouser. Competing in Sechseläutenplatz in front of the storied Opera House near Zurich's lakefront, Kovacs hit 22.67m/74-4.5 in the first round, a distance matched by Crouser, before his big effort in round two that broke the meet and Diamond League record.
 
Kovacs added more than a foot to his previous lifetime best and is now the No. 2 all-time world performer with the No. 3 all-time world performance. Only Crouser's world record of 23.37m/76-8.25 and Olympic record of 23.30m/76-5.5 are ahead of Kovacs on the all-time lists. Those two are the only men ever to surpass 76 feet in the event.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Noah Lyles won the Diamond League men's 200m title at Zurich in 19.52, his 12th sub-20 second clocking of the year, 11 of which were with a legal wind. That ties for the highest number ever in a single season.
• Trayvon Bromell won the men's 100m title at the Diamond League final by more than a tenth of a second in 9.94.
• Grant Holloway was the Diamond League champion in the men's 110m hurdles with a 13.02.
• Chase Ealey won the women's Diamond League shot put title by more than two feet with a 20.19m/66-3 effort.
• Valarie Allman captured the Diamond League women's discus crown for the second year in a row with a 67.77m/222-4 throw.
• Kara Winger won the Diamond League women's javelin in her final competition, going 64.98m/213-2 to beat world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia.
• Keira D'Amato won the women's USATF 20km road title in 64:29.
• Conner Mantz won the USATF men's 20km road title in 59:08.

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.

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.