Mantz's American 20K record earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering the ratified American record* in the men's 20K, Conner Mantz (Provo, UT/USATF Utah) earned recognition as the 33rd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025. It is his second AOW award this year.

The eighth place finisher in the marathon at last summer's Olympic Games in Paris, Mantz took advantage of near-perfect conditions at the USATF 20K Championships in New Haven, Connecticut, to beat a string field and clock 56:16, under the pending American record of 56:23 that he set en route at the Houston Half Marathon in January and faster than the ratified record of 56:48 by Dathan Ritzenhein in 2009.

Mantz set an American record in the half marathon at Houston, finishing in 59:17, and also ran 2:05:08 to place fourth at the Boston Marathon in April. The key to his record-setting run at New Haven was the torrid early pace, as he was joined by a group of five other men to go through 10K in 27:50. Familiar with the course after winning in 2022, Mantz started to pull away over the final kilometers, and he held off a late charge by Hillary Bor for the victory and a course record by more than a minute.

Other top performances from last week:

• Aubrey Frentheway won her first U.S. title at New Haven, taking the women's USATF 20K Championships by six seconds in 65:36.
• Yared Nuguse was the men's winner at the 5th Avenue Mile in NYC, clocking 3:47.7 for the third fastest time in the event's history.
• Gracie Morris won the women's 5th Avenue Mile in NYC in 4:15.5, her third straight win in a mile and the third-fastest time in event history.

* – all American records subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee

Now in its 24th 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. 

2025 Winners: January 15, Zariel Macchia; January 22, Conner Mantz; January 29, Katelyn Tuohy; February 5, Ethan Strand; February 12, Yared Nuguse; February 19, Grant Fisher; February 26, Josh Hoey; March 5, Heather MacLean; March 12, Cole Boone; March 19, Isabella Whittaker; March 26, Claire Bryant; April 2, Curtis Thompson; April 9, Taylor Roe; April 16, Valarie Allman; April 23, Jane Hedengren; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 6, Masai Russell; May 13, Lynna Irby-Jackson; May 20, Jaydin Blackwell; May 27, Jonah Koech; June 3, Anna Hall; June 10, Jane Hedengren; June 17, Nico Young; June 24, Cooper Lutkenhaus; July 1, Chase Jackson; July 8, Rudy Winkler; July 15, Quincy Wilson; July 22, Sinclaire Johnson; August 5, Cooper Lutkenhaus; August 19, Curtis Thompson; August 26, Nikki Hiltz; September 2, Cordell Tinch; September 9, Conner Mantz.

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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