INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the Paris Diamond League women's discus by almost three feet, Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern) earned recognition as the 23rd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024. Allman, the reigning Olympic champion and American record holder, preserved her undefeated record in eight outings in 2024 with a 68.07/223-4 on her final throw in Paris, a distance only she and two other American women have ever bettered. She opened her series with a 67.76/222-4 that would have been good enough to win and then went 67.19/220-5 on her second attempt. Only Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands, who finished second at 67.23/220-7, was anywhere close to Allman, who has won four DL meets this season. Other top performances from last week:
Lauren Gregory won the women's title at the USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire by 1:40, finishing the 10km Loon Mountain course in 53:18.
Joseph Gray was the men's winner at the USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships, taking the title by 14 seconds in 49:27 on the 10km Loon Mountain course.
Brooke Andersen was the women's hammer winner at the Paris Diamond League meet, throwing 73.27/240-4 to win by more than 11 feet.
Gabriela Leon cleared an outdoor personal best of 4.62/15-1.75 to win the women's pole vault at the Hengelo World Continental Tour - Gold meet in the Netherlands.
Now in its 23rd 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. 2024 Winners: January 17, Weini Kelati; January 24, Cooper Teare; January 31, Nico Young; February 7, Fiona O'Keeffe; February 14, Elle St. Pierre; February 21, Grant Holloway; February 28, Jalani Davis; March 6, Elle St. Pierre; March 13, Rachel Glenn; March 20, Grant Fisher; March 27, Myrle Mensey; April 3, Jordan Davis; April 10, Hillary Bor; April 17, Jacious Sears; April 24, Christian Miller; May 1, Payton Otterdahl; May 8, Gabby Thomas; May 15, Ja'Kobe Tharp; May 22, Rai Benjamin; May 29, Joe Kovacs; June 5, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone; June 12, McKenzie Long; July 10, Valarie Allman. 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. Join the conversation with USATF on X, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.