by Lia Skoufos, MS
This article is part of a USATF Campus exclusive series to help understand the World Athletics Rankings. For track enthusiasts and elite athletes alike, this series aims to provide clarity, analysis, and education on all things World Rankings and how they impact Team USATF. For more information on how the World Rankings system works, see this article.
From June 9-16, two U.S. athletes in the top 100 of their respective events had the biggest absolute improvements to their World Rankings, each improving by 40 spots. University of Florida Gator Vance Nilsson moved from 91st to 51st in the world after winning his first NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field title in the 400m hurdles. With a new personal best of 48.06, each of Nilsson’s performance scores that comprise his ranking have come in the last month, starting at the SEC Championships and including each round of the NCAA Championships. Also improving 40 positions was Alicia Monson in the 5000m after she placed third at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix in her first race this year. Monson, the American record holder over 5000m and 10,000m, has spent much time since those performances recovering from injury. However, this strong opener will hopefully mark the much-anticipated return to elite distance running for Monson. When assessing improvement based on percentage increase in ranking (e.g. 2nd to 1st is a 50% improvement as is moving from 30th to 15th), three U.S. athletes improved by 50% or more but the biggest mover climbed from 77th to 38th for a 51% improvement. Howard University’s Yahnari Lyons took fifth place in the women’s 200m at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, marking her first ever World Athletics “B” category competition and back-to-back wind-legal personal bests. Lyons’ time is now the eleventh best by a U.S. athlete this year and the eighteenth fastest in the world. Like many collegiate athletes, the rounds of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships have almost completely overwritten Lyons’ previous five marks for her ranking score. Her best five marks now include two races at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds, two at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and a win at the Tom Jones Memorial in the invitational division. More details on rankings, results, and scenarios can be found on the World Athletics website. You can also experiment with my World Athletics Rankings Dashboard & Calculator and World Rankings Over Time Dashboard, hosted exclusively on USATF Campus.
Lia Skoufos is a Sports Scientist at USATF specializing in throwing events. She holds a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois Chicago and MS in Sport and Exercise Analytics from Marquette University and supports a range of analytics-based projects at USATF. In addition to her work with the throws group, she focuses on creating data-driven visuals and bridging the gap between technical analytics and practical applications by translating complex information into clear, actionable insights for coaches, athletes, and all USATF Campus members.