Felix and Lagat named Athletes of the Week
Posted September 5th, 2007 at 6:30 PM by Martin Kennedy
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Allyson Felix and Bernard Lagat have been named USA Track & Field’s Athletes of the Week after Felix brought home gold medals in the women’s 200 meters, 4×100m amd 4×400m and Lagat won the men’s 1,500 and 5,000m at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan.
The 2005 World 200m champion, Felix defended her title with the largest margin of victory in World Championships history, striding to the gold medal and a huge personal best of 21.81 seconds, the fastest time run by a woman this century. She then took part in the women’s 4×100m relay that brought home the gold in 41.98 seconds. Felix closed out an amazing championships with another gold medal and perhaps the fastest 4×400m relay leg ever by an American woman at a major championship. Felix’s leg was unofficially clocked by multiple observers as 48.0 . For her efforts, Allyson Felix became the second woman in history to win three gold medals at a single World Championships.
The American record holder over 1,500m, Lagat became the first man to win the 1,500/5,000m double at Worlds, and the first American ever to medal in the 5,000.
In the final 100m of the men’s 1,500m final, Lagat sprinted cleanly to the front and went on to win in 3:34.77. It was Team USA’s first gold medal in the event ever at World Outdoors, and the first gold medal of any kind since 1908, when Hall of Famer Mel Sheppard won the Olympic title. In the men’s 5,000m final, the footrace to the line was virtually a replay of his 1,500m victory as Lagat got there first, winning in 13:45.87. The American record holder over two miles, Matt Tegenkamp also sprinted down the stretch and came just .03 from the bronze medal, getting outleaned by Moses Ndiema Kipsiro of Uganda, 13:46.75 to 13:46.78.
Other top performers include 2005 silver medalist and 2007 world leader Brad Walker, who won Team USA’s first-ever men’s pole vault gold at a World Championships with his clearance of 5.86 meters/19 feet 2.75 inches. Breaux Greer became the first American since the inaugural World Championships in 1983 to win a medal in the men’s javelin. His fifth-round throw of 86.21m/282-10 inches gave him the bronze medal.
Now in its sixth 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 the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2007 USATF Athlete of the Week Winners: January 2, Thomas Morgan; January 9, Jacquelyn Coward; January 16, Ryan Hall; January 23, Johnny Dutch; January 30, Shalane Flanagan; February 6, Gail Devers; February 13, Alan Culpepper; February 20, Bernard Lagat; February 27, Christian Cantwell; March 6, Fasil Bizuneh; March 13, Natasha Hastings; March 20, Anthony Famiglietti; March 27, Nadine O’Connor; April 4, Natasha Hastings; April 10, Diana Pickler; April 17, Shalane Flanagan; April 24, Virginia Tech women’s team, Ryan Hall; May 1, Jen Rhines; May 8, Walter Henning; May 15, Allyson Felix; May 22, Breaux Greer; May 29, Walter Dix; June 5, Jenn Stuczynski; June 12, Walter Dix; June 19, Chanelle Price; June 27, Tyson Gay; July 3, Jim Sorensen; July 10, Robin Reynolds; July 17, William Wynne; July 24, Alan Webb; July 31, Victoria Jordan; August 8, Reese Hoffa; August 14, Jeremy Wariner; August 21, Lela Nelson; August 28, Tyson Gay, September 5, Allyson Felix and Bernard Lagat.
BEST MARKS WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 2
MEN
200 - 19.76 Tyson Gay (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/30
400 - 43.45 Jeremy Wariner (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/31 World leader
800 - 1:45.45 Khadevis Robinson (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/31
1500 - 3:34.77 Bernard Lagat (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/29
5000 - 13:35.05 Matt Tegenkamp (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/30
10,000 - 27:56.62 Abdi Abdirahman (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
50k Walk - 4:31:52 Kevin Eastler (USAF) - Osaka, JPN 9/1
110H - 12.99 Terrence Trammell (Mizuno) - Osaka, JPN 8/31
400H - 47.61 Kerron Clement (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/28 World leader
HJ - 2.26/7-5 Jamie Nieto (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
PV - 5.86/19-2.75 Brad Walker (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 9/1
LJ - 8.30/27-2.75 Dwight Phillips (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/30
TJ - 17.33/56-10.25 Walter Davis (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
JT - 86.78/284-8 Breaux Greer (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/31
Dec - 8120 Paul Terek (Asics) - Osaka, JPN 9/1
WOMEN
100 - 11.01 Lauryn Williams (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
200 - 21.81 Allyson Felix (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/31 World leader
400 - 50.17 Dee Dee Trotter (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/29
1500 - 4:08.32 Treniere Clement (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/31
5000 - 15:03.09 Jen Rhines (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 9/1
100H - 12.46 Michelle Perry (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/29
400H - 54.15 Tiffany Williams (Reebok) - Osaka, JPN 8/28
HJ - 1.94/6-4.25 Amy Acuff (Asics) - Osaka, JPN 9/2
PV - 4.50/14-9 Jenn Stuczynski (adidas) - Osaka, JPN 8/28
LJ - 6.83/22-5 Brittney Reese (Ole Miss) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
TJ - 13.90/45-7.25 Shani Marks (Unat.) - Osaka, JPN 8/29
DT - 59.57/195-5 Suzy Powell-Roos (Asics) - Osaka, JPN 8/27
HT - 67.90/222-9 Jessica Cosby (Nike) - Osaka, JPN 8/28
JT - 55.00/180-5 Dana Pounds (USAF) - Osaka, JPN 8/29
Related Stories:
- Bolt, Isinbayeva Named 2008 IAAF Athletes of the Year
- Felix, Lee, Hooker Earn Tickets to Beijing in 200m
- Allyson Felix Easily Wins 200m Prelims
- The Week in the Rear View: Racing News May 19-25, 2008
- Antwon Hicks Named USATF Athlete of the Week
Tags: allyson felix, athlete of the week, Bernard Lagat, gold medal, IAAF World Championships, IAAF World Championships in Athletics, USA Track & Field, usatf
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The Final Sprint
[…] Wake Forest University Felix and Lagat named Athletes of the Week » This Summary is from an article posted at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 This article’s contents are copywritten by the author of The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication. Please click "View Original Article…" below to view the article. Summary Provided by Technorati.comView Original Article at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication » 10 Most Recent News Articles About Virginia Tech […]
September 5th, 2007 at 9:05 pm