Gault named Athlete of the Week

Gault named Athlete of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS - Masters phenom Willie Gault has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after he set masters 50-54 world records in the 100 meter (10.88) and 200m (22.44) last weekend at the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles.

Running against collegiate athletes, Gault was successful in turning in two record-breaking performances in the span of two-and-a-half hours. In his first race of the day, Gault bettered the nine-year-old 100m record of Bill Collins by seven-hundredths of a second. For the second race of the day, Gault faced a tight turn as he ran in lane one, but still managed to better the existing record by nearly one-tenth of a second.

While Gault has enjoyed a long run of sporting success in both track and football, the honor of setting a world record is not lost on the former Super Bowl and IAAF Track & Field World Champion.

“I cherish what I do,” Gault said. “I am very fortunate to be in this sport, and I don’t take it for granted. I just love the sport; track and field is the greatest sport in the world.”

Now in its tenth 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 5, Bill Tribou; January 12, Tyler Sorensen; January 20, Josh Cox; January 26,Ben Shorey; February 2, Ashton Eaton; February 9, Ashton Eaton; February 16, Bernard Lagat; February 23, Ryan Crouser; March 2, Jillian Camarena-Williams; March 10, Bill Collins; March 16, Miles Batty; March 23, Shalane Flanagan; March 30, John Nunn; April 6, Aries Merritt; April 13, Gunnar Nixon; April 20, Desiree Davila; April 27, Nolan Shaheed; May 4, Emma Coburn; May 11, Willie Gault

WEEK IN REVIEW -- MAY 2-8
From USATF Statistician Glen McMicken

JETER, DEMUS RAMP IT UP IN THE ISLANDS

The brand new blue track in Kingston's National Stadium may have a few scorch marks on it after the Jamaica Invitational, as Carmelita Jeter dominated a strong field to win the women's 100m in 10.86, the fastest time in the world this year.

2009 World Championships silver medalist Lashinda Demus hurdled to a world-leading 54.85 in the 400m hurdles at the Guadeloupe meet in Baie Mahault, while Jeremy Wariner lowered his U.S. best in the 400m to 44.88.

Other marks of note came from Adam Nelson, who won the men's shot put in Jamaica at 21.24m/69-8.25, and Khadevis Robinson, who opened his season with a 1:46.25 800m winner at Kingston. Nelson has topped 21-meters in the shot every year since 2000.

Justin Gaymon clocked 48.58 to win the men's 400m hurdles in Kingston, his fastest time since finishing fourth at the 2008 Olympic Trials. In the women's 100m hurdles, former UCF standout Tiki James won her first major international meet with a windy 12.88, and Mike Rodgers zipped to a windy 9.96 for third in the men's 100m.

COSBY INCHES UP ALL-TIME HAMMER LIST

Last year's national runner-up Jessica Cosby moved a little closer to the American Record in the women's hammer at the Oxy Invitational in Eagle Rock, Calif., winning at 72.65m/238-4 to take firm hold of the No. 2 spot on the all-time list.

SOUTHEAST PREPS STATE THEIR CASE

Florida high schooler Arman Hall, one of the leading candidates to qualify for Team USA at the World Youth Championships this summer, rolled to a national high school-leading 46.22 in the 400m at the state meet in Winter Park. 2010 Youth Olympics 400m champion Robin Reynolds was the star of the girls' meet, winning four individual golds and racing to a prep-best 53.91 in the 400m.

The boys' 800m at the Georgia state meet produced a thrillingly close finish as O'Neal Wanliss won in 1:49.62, only a hundredth ahead of Cameron Thornton.

DOHA DIAMOND LEAGUE
For a recap of last week’s Samsung Diamond League meet in Doha, click here.
About USA Track & Field

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





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