Sisson's record-setting half marathon earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering her own American record* in the half marathon, Emily Sisson (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) earned recognition as the first USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023.
 
Sisson, who was 10th in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and twice a World Championships top-10 finisher, lopped 19 seconds off the AR she set at Indianapolis last May with a 66:52 clocking to place second at the Chevron Houston Half Marathon. En route she also bettered the 20km AR.
 
Running behind leader and eventual winner Hiwot Gebrekidan of Ethiopia, Sisson set a rapid pace and went through 5km in 15:31, side by side with Britain's Jessica Warner-Judd. By 10km, Warner-Judd had eased ahead of Sisson by two seconds as the American passed in 31:19, still well under AR pace. Going past Warner-Judd over the next 5km, Sisson hit 15km in 47:20 and at 20km she was a clear second, bettering the AR for that distance by 22 seconds with her 63:26 split. Over the final stretch Sisson made up some more ground on Gebrekidan to finish second by 27 seconds over Warner-Judd.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Miranda Melville defended her women's USATF 35km Race Walk Championships crown with a 2:57:22 clocking that vaulted her to No. 2 on the all-time U.S. performer list.
• Nick Christie won the USATF men's 35km Race Walk Championships in 2:44:16, the No. 7 all-time U.S. performance. It was his third straight national 35km title.
• Amanda Moll bettered the American U20 indoor pole vault record with a 4.61m/15-1.5 clearance to win the Pole Vault Summit in Reno. Her mark moved her to No. 3 on the all-time world U20 indoor list.
• Britton Wilson bettered the collegiate record in the women's 600m with a 1:25.16 at Arkansas.
• Shawnti Jackson bettered the high school national 300m record with a 36.64 at the VA Showcase.

*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.

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.

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