Simbassa's 10km win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Surging over the final mile to win the USATF 10km Road Championships presented by Toyota, Biya Simbassa (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 31st USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Simbassa started the race near the front of the lead pack, hanging just a couple seconds behind Jacob Thomson through the halfway point. He took over the lead shortly after that and pushed the pace with Sam Chelanga for the next mile. Simbassa upped his tempo even more to start pulling away from the field, and that increased tempo gave him a 20-second lead with a mile to go. He added two seconds to that lead over the final mile to win in 28:12, setting a course record for the Cow Harbor Run 10km.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Riley Cook won the men's overall title at the USATF Masters 12km by 18 seconds in 38:20, his second USATF Masters win of the season.
• Nora Cary, 67, was the age-graded winner of the women's USATF Masters 12km with a 54:05 that graded out to 93.55%. She won the 65-69 division for the second year in a row.
• Stephanie Bruce won the women's USATF 10km Road Championships by four seconds in 31:52, a course record at the Cow Harbor Run in Northport, New York.
• Jamal Britt won the men's 110m hurdles at Bellinzona, Switzerland, in 13.18, his second World Continental Tour victory of the year.

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.

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.