INDIANAPOLIS — Winning World U20 gold in the women's 800m and 4x400m relay, Roisin Willis (Stevens Point, Wisconsin/USATF Wisconsin) earned recognition as the 25th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022. Willis, who recently graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) and will attend Stanford in the fall, moved past Switzerland's Audrey Werro down the final stretch of the women's 800m at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, to take gold in a meet record time of 1:59.13. That made her the No. 2 all-time high school performer in the event and one of only three U.S. high school women ever to have broken the 2:00 barrier. At the end of the meet, Willis came back to anchor the Team USATF 4x400m relay to gold in 3:28.06 with a 51.34 split, the fastest of any runner in the final. That 3:28.06 was the third fastest time ever run by a U20 team, trailing only two other U.S. national team efforts from 2004 and 2019. Other top performances from USATF Championships and U20 Championships:
Now in its 21st 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. 2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis. 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. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF. Photo Credit: World Athletics