Ashford’s 100m record earns her USATF Throwback Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Evelyn Ashford (Sacramento, California) set a world record in the women’s 100m on July 3, 1983 and was overwhelmingly voted by fans as winner of the 15th USATF Throwback Athlete of the Week award. In the absence of competition during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are taking a weekly look back at some of the great efforts by American track and field athletes through the years.
 
A four-time Olympian with four gold medals and a silver to her credit, Ashford burned up the Air Force Academy track at Colorado Springs during the National Sports Festival to clock 10.79 and take .02 off the existing world record set the previous month by East Germany’s Marlies Göhr. A half-hour before her 100m record, Ashford teamed up with Alice Brown, Diane Williams and Chandra Cheeseborough to match the American record of 41.63 in the 4x100m relay.
 
Ashford won gold in the 100m and 4x100m at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984 and lowered her WR to 10.76 at Zurich, Switzerland, on August 22. She took silver in the 100m and gold in the 4x100m at the ‘88 Games in Seoul and added relay gold at Barcelona in ‘92. Inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1997, Ashford won 19 national titles and ranks as one of the greatest female sprinters in history.
 
Other historical performances of note from the June 29-July 5 period in USATF history:
 

• June 29 — Glenn Davis World record in men’s 400m hurdles, 49.5 at Los Angeles, California in 1956
• June 30 — Jack Torrance World record in men’s shot put, 16.89m/55-0.25 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1934
• July 1 — Earlene Brown American record in women’s shot put, 13.71m/44-11.75 at Van Nuys, California in 1956
• July 2 — Barbara Ferrell =World record in women’s 100m, 11.1 at Santa Barbara, California in 1967
• July 4 — F. Morgan Taylor World record in men’s 400m hurdles, 52.0 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1928
• July 5 — Henry Marsh American record in men’s 3,000m steeplechase, 8:21.55 at Stockholm, Sweden in 1977

 
Now in its 19th 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 USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
 
2020 Winners: January 9, Miranda Melville; January 16, Paul Perry; January 23, Natosha Rogers; January 30, Tyler Day, February 6, Devin Dixon; February 13, Elle Purrier; February 20, Tori Franklin; February 27, Sandi Morris; March 4, Abdi Abdirahman; March 12 Marielle Hall; March 19, Tim Tollefson; April 2, Louise Ritter; April 9, Francie Larrieu Smith; April 16, Erin Gilreath; April 23, Suzy Powell; April 30, Joe Dial; May 7, Dawn Ellerbe; May 14, Ramona Pagel; May 21, Brian Oldfield; May 28, Jackie Joyner-Kersee; June 4, Jesse Owens; June 11, Mary Decker Slaney; June 18, Leroy Burrell; June 25, Sandra Farmer-Patrick; July 2, Jim Ryun; July 9, Evelyn Ashford.
 
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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