INDIANAPOLIS - Lashinda Demus (Wilson HS, Long Beach 2001)has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after winning the 400m hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) won her first individual World Championships gold medal in an American Record time of 52.47, bettering Kim Batten’s previous mark of 52.61 set in 1995. Demus had control of the race from the start with defending Olympic and World Champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica taking second in 52.73.
“I was really focused on steps and technique,” Demus said. “And making sure I had something left over the last 100m.”
Demus has twice been the runner-up at the World Championships with silver medal efforts in 2005 and 2009. Demus did not compete in the 2007 season due to the birth of her twin boys in June of 2007.
“This victory means that hard work pays off,” Demus said. “I feel like I ran for my mother, the twins, my husband, my father, and for all the people who support me.”
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; July 20, Johnnye Valien; July 27, Bernard Lagat; August 3, Marcus Krah; August 9, Leo Manzano; August 17, Magdalena Lewy Boulet; August 24, Brigetta Barrett; September 7, LaShinda Demus
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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