Blahnik named Athlete of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS - Kennedy Blahnik has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after setting a National Youth Girls record in the shot put and discus competitions last week at the 2010 National Junior Olympic Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif.

The defending Junior Olympic Youth Girls discus and shot put champion, Blahnik (Algoma, Wisc.) let loose National discus and shot put records to easily win both events in the Youth Girls competition. Tossing a National discus record Thursday with a fourth-round throw of 43.69m/143-04, her performance easily bettered the twenty-year-old record of 43.92m/140-10 by Suzy Powell in 1990. She then returned for another victory and National shot put record Saturday with a toss of 15.88m/52-1.25 to pass Teri Steer's mark of 15.59m/51-1.75, set in 1989.

Now in its ninth 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.

Winners: January 13, Jen Clayton; January 20, Shalane Flanagan; January 27, Nolan Shaheed; February 3, Bernard Lagat; February 10, Bernard Lagat; February 17, Shalane Flanagan; February 24, Amber Campbell; March 3, Amber Campbell; March 10, Phil Raschker; March 17, Ashton Eaton; March 31, Lisa Koll; April 7, Queen Harrison; April 14, Magdalena Lewy Boulet; April 21, Bershawn Jackson; April 28, Phoebe Wright; May 5, Chris Solinsky; May 12, Walter Dix; May 26, Cory Martin; June 2, Chaunte Lowe; June 9, Bernard Lagat; June 16, Queen Harrison; June 30, Kara Patterson; July 7, David Oliver; July 22, David Oliver; July 28, Conor McCullough; August 4, Kennedy Blahnik.
About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.