Davis' double win earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the women's shot put and weight throw at the Southeastern Conference Championships, Jalani Davis (University, Mississippi/USATF Southern) earned recognition as the 7th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.

Davis, a senior at the University of Mississippi, hit 25.09/82-3.75 on her second attempt with the 20-pound weight on Friday in Fayetteville, moving to ninth on the all-time world performer list and No. 8 on the U.S. all-time performer list as she became the third-best collegian ever. She won the event by more than four feet and defended the title she won in 2023.

Saturday's shot put was a nerve-wracking affair for Davis, who sneaked into the final nine with the eighth-best throw of the first three rounds. On her fifth attempt she nailed an 18.61/61-0.75 to edge Florida's Alida van Daalen by only two centimeters and reverse the duo's finish from last year's Championships. Davis, who won the SEC crown in 2022, moved to No. 8 on the all-time U.S. collegian performer list with her PB effort. She has improved by more than 17 feet in the shot put from her high school PB.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Suzanne La Burt, 60, won the women's 60-64 division at the USATF Masters 5K Championships in Atlanta in 19:52, and was the overall age-graded champion at 93.12%.
• John Glidewell, 67, was the men's 65-69 winner at the USATF Masters 5K Championships in Atlanta in 17:53 and took the overall age-graded victory at 94.50%.
• Victoria Bossong of Harvard ran the second fastest indoor women's 500 ever by an American and also moved to No. 2 on the all-time collegiate performer list with her 1:08.53 at the Ivy League Championships.
• Michaela Rose of LSU won the women's 800 at the SEC Championships in 1:59.25, making her the No. 9 all-time U.S. indoor performer and No. 2 all-time indoor collegian.

Now in its 23nd 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.

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.
 
Photo Credit: Reed Jones/Ole Miss Athletics