INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering her own American record in the discus, Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas) earned recognition as the 14th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022. Allman won the Triton Invitational at La Jolla, California, with a throw of 71.46m/234-5, the farthest in the world since March 14, 1992, and a foot better than the American record she set at Berlin last September. With her throw she also moved to No. 16 on the world all-time performer list. The Olympic champion last summer at Tokyo, Allman opened her series with a 65.51m/214-11 before her big throw and added throws of 67.38m/221-0 and 65.93m/216-3 in the final two rounds. Her record is subject to USATF ratification. Other top performances from last week:
Abby Steiner of Kentucky ran a world-leading 10.92 to win the women's 100m at the LSU May Invitational.
Ajee' Wilson won the women's 800m in 2:03.09 at the USATF Bermuda Games, the fastest outdoor time by an American this season.
Cade Flatt ran the third-fastest U.S. high school boys' 800m ever with a 1:47.04 to finish second at the Joe Walker Invitational at Mississippi.
Now in its 21st 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. 2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman. 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. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.