Purrier’s 2 mile record earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- After a weekend that produced a slew of stunning record performances, Elle Purrier (Montgomery, Vermont) won the fan vote to earn the fifth USATF Athlete of the Week award for 2021 after bettering the existing American record in the women’s 2 Miles.
 
Running at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze facility, Purrier shattered the previous American record* with a 9:10.28 that sliced 8.07 seconds off the mark set by Jenny Simpson in 2015. Purrier and Emma Coburn ran together through the mile at around 4:42 and were virtually inseparable with a half-mile remaining. Purrier started to move away and stretched the gap to more than a second before polishing off her record run with a 63.98 final quarter. Her time ranks her No. 3 on the world all-time list, and her en route 3,000m clocking of 8:36.41 makes her No. 5 on the all-time U.S. performer list.
 
More top performances from last week:

• Donavan Brazier broke his own American indoor record in the men’s 800m by .01 at the New Balance GP with a 1:44.21.
• Bryce Hoppel claimed his first American record, breaking the men’s indoor 1,000m standard with a 2:16.27 at the New Balance GP.
• KC Lightfoot of Baylor again set a collegiate record in the men’s pole vault, joining the 6.00m/19-8.25 club at Texas Tech.
• Grant Holloway broke his own American record in the men’s 60m hurdles with a 7.32 at Lievin, France.
• Cooper Teare of Oregon shattered the men’s collegiate indoor record in the mile with a world-leading 3:50.39 at the Tyson Invitational. He also broke the CR in the 1,500m en route with a 3:35.46.
• Turner Washington of Arizona State broke the collegiate record in the men’s shot put with a 21.85m/71-8.25 at Texas Tech.
• Gabby Thomas won the women’s 300m at the New Balance GP in 35.73, the second fastest indoor time in U.S. history.

 
Now in its 20th 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 and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
 
2021 Winners: January 21, KC Lightfoot; January 28, Ryan Crouser; February 4, Bryce Hoppel; February 11, Athing Mu; February 18, Elle Purrier.
 
We welcome your nominations!
 
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.
 
Fans can follow along with #USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
 
*Pending ratification