Kelati's 10K win earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the USATF women's 10K Championships by a sizable margin, Weini Kelati (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 34th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023.

Ignoring wet and windy conditions at the Great Cow Harbor 10K Run in Northport, New York, Kelati immediately went to the front and established a big lead over the pack, putting a 23-second gap between her and eventual runner-up Ednah Kurgat as she went through the 5K point in 16:04.

Over the final half of the race Kelati didn't yield any ground and even stretched her lead, crossing the finish line in 31:57 to win by 43 seconds over Kurgat. She missed the course record by only five seconds as she notched her first win on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Clayton Young won the men's USATF 10K Championships by three seconds in 28:49, his third win this year on the USATF Running Circuit.
• Elise Stearns won the individual women's title with a 16:18.9 5K to lead her Northern Arizona squad to the team trophy at the Virginia Invitational cross country meet.
• Drew Bosley won the men's individual title with a 23:20.3 8K to lead Northern Arizona to the team trophy at the Virginia Invitational cross country meet.
• Davis Bove won the men's individual title with a 23:40.1 8K to help Cal Poly to the team trophy at Oregon's Dellinger Invitational.

Now in its 22nd 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.

2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron; April 4, Hillary Bor; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Britton Wilson; April 25, Brooke Andersen; May 2, Gabby Thomas; May 9, Connor Burns; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Brooke Andersen; May 30, Ryan Crouser; June 6, KC Lightfoot; June 13, Grayson Murphy; June 20, Yared Nuguse; July 17, Gabby Thomas & Christian Miller; July 20, Ednah Kurgat; July 27, Nikki Hiltz; August 3, Quenton Lanese; August 10, Shawnti Jackson; August 17, Michelle Atherley; August 30, Ryan Crouser, Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson & Laulauga Tausaga-Collins; September 6, Yared Nuguse; September 13, Jenny Hitchings; September 20, Yared Nuguse; September 27, Weini Kelati.

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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