Thursday, July 14, 2011

Camarena-Williams named Athlete of the Week

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INDIANAPOLIS - Jillian Camarena-Williams of the New York Athletic Club has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the week after tying the American Record at the Paris Diamond League meet on July 8. This is the second athlete of the week honor for Camarena-Williams in 2011.


Camarena-Williams finished third with her mark of 20.18m/66-2.5 which tied Ramona Pagel’s record, which she set in 1988. This latest mark for Camarena-Williams comes on the heels of an indoor season where she also established the American indoor record of 19.87m/65-2.25, which was also previously owned by Pagel, who set the mark in 1987.

Camarena-Williams will also represent the United States at the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships August 27-September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.

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; May 18, English Gardner; May 25, Kibwé Johnson; June 1, Khadevis Robinson; June 8, Carmelita Jeter; June 15, Lukas Verzbicas; June 22, Aisling Cuffe; June 29, Trevor Barron; July 6, Aldrich Bailey; July 13, Jillian Camarena-Williams


WEEK IN REVIEW -- JULY 4-10
From USATF Statistician Glen McMicken

RUPP RIPS 5K PR AT BIRMINGHAM DL
The conditions were less than ideal across the board, but for training partners Mo Farah and Galen Rupp it was a great day for a 5,000m at the July 10 Birmingham Diamond League meet. Rupp almost upstaged the British favorite, clocking a lifetime-best 13:06.86 to finish second by less than a second.

National champ Morgan Uceny grabbed another big win at 1500m, this time in 4:05.64, while U.S. indoor champion Janay DeLoach was victorious in the long jump at 6.78m/22-3, beating reigning world champion Brittney Reese in the process. The women's 200m was an all-American affair, with Bianca Knight winning in 22.59, the same time as Marshevet Myers in second.

Steeplechaser Delilah DiCrescenzo achieved the A standard for Daegu with her 9:40.63 PR to place fifth. Danielle Carruthers also picked up a PR in the 100m hurdles, taking second at 12.52.

Mike Rodgers, who qualified for Team USA in Eugene, appeared to injure himself when another athlete false started in the 100m final.

MULDER THE MAN IN MADRID
Former Northern Iowa star Tyler Mulder just missed out on a trip to Daegu with a fourth-place finish in Eugene, but he got some measure of satisfaction in Madrid with a convincing win over Russia's 2004 Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy. Mulder made a powerful move halfway through the final lap of the 800m and pulled away to cross the line at 1:45.10, almost half a second ahead of Borzakovskiy.

In the 100m, Justin Gatlin edged Britain's Dwain Chambers 10.10-10.13 into a strong wind, and Ty Akins also overcame a stiff breeze to take the 110m hurdles in 13.45 ahead of Joel Brown.

USC's Nia Ali fought a -2.5 wind to take top honors in the women's 100m hurdles at 12.83.

AMERICANS SWEEP MID-DISTANCE TITLES IN BELGIUM
Former LSU Tiger Richard Jones won the 800m in 1:47.34 and Minnesota's Ben Blankenship set a personal best in the 1500m off 3:37.23 to help the U.S. sweep middle distance races at Kortrijk, Belgium. Heather Kampf (nee Dorniden) was the winner in the women's 800m, and Liz Maloy nabbed gold in the 1500m.

Justin Gaymon was the other U.S. winner with a 50.00 in the 400m hurdles.

SAXER JOINS 15-FOOT CLUB
Mary Saxer joined the ranks of American women who have cleared 15-0 in the pole vault, becoming the 15th member of that club with a 4.60/15-1 PR to win the Seattle beach vault on July 9.

DIX BACK IN ACTION WITH CANADIAN WIN
Running his first race since winning the sprint double in Eugene, Walter Dix zipped to a 10.08 to take the 100m at Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 10.

CROUSER CLOSES DOOR ON STORIED PREP CAREER WITH DISCUS RECORD
2009 World Youth shot put champion Ryan Crouser closed out a great high school career with a national prep record in the discus July 9 in Portland, Oregon. Crouser's fifth-round 72.39m/237-6 toss topped the previous record of 72.08m/236-6 set by Mason Finley of Buena Vista, Colo., in 2009. He also won the shot at 22.38m/73-5.25.

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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