INDIANAPOLIS -- Running the fastest time ever by an American woman in the 300 hurdles, Anna Cockrell (Westworth Village, TX/USATF Southwestern) earned recognition as the 18th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
Cockrell, who was the silver medalist in the 400 hurdles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and fifth at last year's World Championships, clocked 37.40 at the Arkansas Twilight meet in Fayetteville to establish an American record* in the event. This is the first year for the 300H to be an official American record event.
The 28-year-old Cockrell moved to No. 2 on the world all-time performer list with her time, trailing only Femke Bol's 36.86 from 2022. She chopped almost a half-second off her previous career best of 38.07 that was run at Fayetteville last year.
Other top performances from last week:
Andrew Colley won the men's title at the USATF 25K Championships by 19 seconds in 1:14:00, his first U.S. road title.
Emma Grace Hurley was the women's winner at the USATF 25K Championships, clocking 1:22:51 for a 47-second margin of victory.
Lauren Harris bettered her own American record in the women's half marathon race walk with a 1:36:04 to place fourth and take more than three minutes off the previous record she set in April. Nick Christie bettered his own American record in the men's half marathon race walk by almost six minutes with a 1:28:35 at Podebrady, Czechia.
* – all records are subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee
Now in its 25th 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.
2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker; February 26, Cynthia McNamee; March 5, Chase Jackson; March 12, Lauren Harris; March 19, Garrett Kaalund; March 26, Cooper Lutkenhaus; April 2, Rudy Winkler; April 9, Max Thomas; April 16, Sam Mattis; April 23, Tahmar Upshaw; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 7, Karissa Schweizer; May 14, Anna Cockrell.
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.
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