INDIANAPOLIS — Shattering the world and American bests for the 48-hour run*, Camille Herron (Warr Acres, Oklahoma/USATF Oklahoma) earned recognition as the 11th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023. Herron, 41, covered 435,336 meters on the track at the Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Track Festival in Bruce, Australia, running just over 1,088 laps. Already the holder of the 24-hour world and American bests, Herron beat the previous world best of 411,458m, set earlier this year, and she became the No. 3 all-time athlete in the event, male or female. The ninth-place finisher in the marathon at the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2015 100km world champion, Herron also established an overall American best for 48 hours, eclipsing the previous best of 421,939m by Olivier LeBlond in 2017. Other top performances from last week:
Roberta Groner, 45, bettered the American women's 45-49 half marathon record with a 1:11:28 at the Trials of Miles race in New York. She broke the existing record by more than two minutes and her time qualifies her for the Olympic Trials Marathon next year.
Michelle Rohl, 57, won gold in the women's 55-59 3,000m at the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland, just missing her own American record with a 10:27.11.
Kenna Stimmel of Virginia Tech moved to No. 9 on the all-time U.S. U20 women's pole vault performer list with a 4.45m/14-7.25 clearance at the Baskin Relays in South Carolina.
*Subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee. Now in its 22nd 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. 2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron. 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. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF. Photo credit: Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival