INDIANAPOLIS — Winning one of the world’s most grueling ultra trail races in record-setting fashion, Courtney Dauwalter (Golden, Colorado) earned recognition as the 26th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2021. Dauwalter won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc as she traversed the rugged 172-kilometer course around Mont Blanc in 22:30:54, bettering the previous course record set in 2013 by American Rory Bosio by almost seven minutes. The course started and finished in Chamonix, France, and went through Italy and Switzerland along the way. It was the second straight UTMB win for Dauwalter, who took the title in 2019, and she won the women’s division by more than 90 minutes as she finished seventh overall. Other top performances from last week:
Now in its 20th 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. 2021 Winners: January 21, KC Lightfoot; January 28, Ryan Crouser; February 4, Bryce Hoppel; February 11, Athing Mu; February 18, Elle Purrier; February 25, Jaylen Slade; March 4, Grant Holloway; March 11, Emmanuel Bor; March 18, Tara Davis; March 25, Emily Sisson; April 1, Tara Davis; April 8, Kenny Selmon; April 15, DeAnna Price; April 22, Athing Mu; April 29, Rudy Winkler; May 6, Trayvon Bromell; May 13, Sha’Carri Richardson; May 20, Athing Mu; May 27, Ryan Crouser; June 3, Maggie Malone; June 10, Trayvon Bromell; June 24, Ryan Crouser; July 1, Sydney McLaughlin; July 21, Maggie Malone; August 25, Athing Mu; September 2, Courtney Dauwalter. 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. Fans can follow along with #USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Photo courtesy of UTMB Mont Blanc