INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the existing American record* in the men's 35km race walk, Nick Christie (El Cajon, CA/USATF New York) earned recognition as the 34th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.
Christie, an Olympian at Tokyo who set the ratified record of 2:38:16 at Dublin, Ireland, in 2021, clocked 2:36:47 at Zittau, Germany, to place sixth overall. Passing the 10km mark in 43:13, Christie cruised through 20km in 1:25:41 and went by 25km in 1:48:00, bettering the AR of 1:49:36 that was set by Tim Lewis in 1984 at Seattle.
Christie also claimed the AR for 30km when he hit that point in 2:11:52, bettering the old mark of 2:12:53 by Kevin Eastler in 2006 at Chula Vista. The two-time World Championships team member took the Olympic Trials gold for 20km at Eugene in June and has 19 U.S. titles to his name.
Other top performances from last week:
Hans Troyer won the USATF 50 Mile Road Championships in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, running 5:16:14. Troyer won by more than eight minutes.
Trey Caldwell of De La Salle High School in California was a dominant winner of the boys’ race at the 76th Annual Mt. SAC Invitational cross country meet, dipping under 15 minutes with a 14:46 over the challenging three-mile course.
Braelyn Combe of Corona Santiago High School was the girls' winner at the 76th Annual Mt. SAC Invitational cross country meet with a 17:20 clocking to win by 37 seconds on the challenging three-mile course.
*-- all records subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee.
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; July 17, Rai Benjamin; July 24, Quincy Wilson; September 4, Ja'Kobe Tharp; September 11, Grant Holloway; September 18, Nora Cary; September 25, Jessica McClain; October 2, Brittany Brown; October 9, Fiona Bayly; October 16, CJ Albertson; October 23, Dan King; October 30, Nick Christie.
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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