Houlihan’s speedy 5,000m earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors, Wilma Rudolph wins throwback honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Shelby Houlihan (Portland, Oregon) ran the fastest women’s 5,000m ever by an American to earn USATF Athlete of the Week.
 
Running with her Nike Bowerman TC teammates at Portland’s Jesuit High School, Houlihan moved to 12th on the world all-time performer list with a stunning 14:23.92. She held off Karissa Schweizer over the final 600m for the win, with Schweizer finishing in 14:26.34. Both times were well under Houlihan’s existing American record of 14:34.45, set in 2018. Houlihan covered the final 800m in 2:07.3 and the last 1600 in 4:27.4 to close out one of the most remarkable runs ever on U.S. soil.
 
Full results are here.
 
Other notable performances from the past week included:

• Ryan Crouser showed little evidence of a lengthy layoff with his 21.87m/71-9 shot put win at the ATL I meet in Marietta, Georgia. His throw put him atop the 2020 world outdoor list by more than six inches over New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh.
• Sandi Morris won the Zurich Inspiration Games women’s pole vault with a 4.66m/15-3.5 effort at Bradenton, Florida, at the time the best outdoor performance by an American woman this season.
• Katie Nageotte added four centimeters to Morris’ U.S. women’s pole vault lead with a 4.70m/15-5 clearance at the ATL I meet in Georgia.
• Sam Kendricks also won the Zurich Inspiration Games, taking the men’s pole vault title with a season-best 5.81m/19-0.75.
• Allyson Felix zipped to a 16.81 at Mt. SAC in the women’s 150m to win the Zurich Inspiration Games, and she anchored a U.S. women’s 3x100m relay to victory, teaming up with Candace Hill and Tianna Bartoletta.
• Lopez Lomong moved to No. 8 on the U.S. men’s all-time 5,000m list with his 12:58.75 at Portland, Oregon.

Rudolph’s 200m record earns her USATF Throwback Athlete of the Week honors
 
INDIANAPOLIS -- Wilma Rudolph (Brentwood, Tennessee) set a world record in the women’s 200m on July 9, 1960 and was voted by fans as winner of the 16th USATF Throwback Athlete of the Week award. In the absence of regular 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.
 
Winner of three gold medals at the 1960 Olympic Games, Rudolph was a two-time Olympian who overcame childhood illness to become one of the greatest female sprinters in history. At the 1960 AAU Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, she sped to a 22.9 to claim the WR in the 200m and she also equaled the American record in the 100m with an 11.5 win. Rudolph’s time in the 200m snipped .3 seconds off the previous record set by Australia’s Betty Cuthbert at 220 yards. She and her Tennessee State University teammates also took gold in the 4x100m relay.
 
Rudolph went on to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at Rome later in the year, the first American woman to win three golds in a single Olympics, and she retired from the sport in 1962. She worked with underprivileged youth and established the Wilma Rudolph Foundation in Indianapolis. At the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, she was chosen to light the cauldron. Rudolph was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and was honored by the USPS on a postage stamp as part of its Distinguished Americans series in 2004. She died at age 54 in 1994.
 
Other historical performances of note from the July 6-12 period in USATF history:
 

• July 6 — Eleanor Montgomery American record in women’s high jump, 1.80m/5-11 at Dayton, Ohio in 1969
• July 7 — Bob LeGendre World record in men’s long jump, 25-5.75 at Colombes, France in 1924
• July 8 — Ted Meredith American record in men’s 880y, 1:52.5 at Stockholm, Sweden in 1912
• July 10 — Donald Lippincott American record in men’s 200m, 21.8 at Stockholm, Sweden in 1912
• July 11 — Helen Filkey American record in 100y, 11.4 at Pasadena, California in 1925 (also set ARs in 60y hurdles and =AR in long jump that day)
• July 12 — Dave Albritton World record in men’s high jump, 6-9.75 at New York City in 1936

 
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; July 16, Shelby Houlihan/Wilma Rudolph.
 
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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