Kelati's half marathon record earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering the American record* in the women's half marathon at Houston, Weini Kelati (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the 1st USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.

The seventh-place finisher in the 5K at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships, Kelati made her half marathon debut a memorable one as she trimmed 13 seconds from the ratified American record with a 66:25 that placed her fourth overall. Keira D'Amato set the AR of 66:38 in Australia last July. The race was won by Ethiopia's Sutume Asefa, who set a U.S. All-Comers record of 64:37 and moved into a tie for No. 8 on the all-time world performer list.

Hitting the 5K mark in 15:48, Kelati was 32 seconds off the lead pace set by Asefa and Kenya's Hellen Obiri, and she was fourth at 10K, going past in 31:26. Over the next 5K, Kelati eased into third and was running side-by-side with Buze Diriba of Ethiopia and they went through at 47:08, still more than a minute behind Asefa and Obiri. Kelati and Diriba stayed in tandem through 20K in 63:05, and in the last mile the Ethiopian went back in front to edge Kelati by a second at the finish. Obiri was second in 66:07.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Brian Faust became the No. 9 all-time U.S. men's performer in the 300 with a 32.36 win at Clemson.
• Chris Nilsen cleared 5.90/19-4.25 to win the men's elite competition at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno.
• Sandi Morris was the women's winner at the Pole Vault Summit, clearing 4.82/15-9.75 in Reno.
• Mia Brahe-Pedersen won the 60 and 200 at the VA Showcase in Virginia Beach, clocking 7.22 to move to No. 6 on the all-time high school women's 60 performer list, and 22.92 for the fifth-best prep indoor 200 performance ever.
• Quincy Wilson, a sophomore, ran the second-fastest men's 500 ever by a high schooler with a 61.27 at the VA Showcase.

*All records subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee
 
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.

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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Photo Credit: Kevin Morris