Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Evan Jager wins USATF AOW after breaking own American record

 

7/8/2015
 
INDIANAPOLIS -- After dropping four seconds from his previous record, Evan Jager wins USATF Athlete of the Week after clocking a new American record in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at Meeting AREVA in Paris this past weekend.

“Any time you are chosen out of such elite company, it is a real honor,” said the most decorated American steeplechaser in history.

Jager (Algonquin, Illinois) shattered his previous record of 8:04.71 with a time of 8:00.45. Despite losing his lead after a stumble on the final barrier, Jager recovered to earn a second place finish.

“I put just about everything I had into getting over that barrier, but my foot on my trail leg just barely clipped the barrier and I was so tired I couldn't keep myself from falling to the ground,” Jager said.

With world record times in mind, Jager will head to Park City, Utah on July 9 for more training in preparation for the 2015 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Beijing.

Other notable performances this week include:

●  Taylor Ewert (Beavercreek, Ohio), won the 13-14 girls’ 3,000m race walk at the USATF Hershey Youth Outdoor Championships in 14:42.04, slicing more than four seconds off the previous record (Anya-Maria Ruoss, 1992). Ewert is a four-time USATF race walk champion.

●  Shalane Flanagan (Portland, Oregon), was the top women’s finisher in the Peachtree Cup in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 4. Flanagan’s 10 km time of 32:05 helped Team USA substantially in team points and was seven seconds better than the runner-up, Buze Diriba of Team Africa.

●  Candace Hill (Conyers, Georgia) set a meet record in the 200 meters at the World Youth Trials in Lisle, Illinois, on the campus of Benedictine University. Her time of 23.14 in the 15-16 girls division was good enough to earn a spot on the World Youth Team, which will compete in Cali, Colombia, later this month.

●  Andy Wacker (Boulder, Colorado) helped Team USA to silver with his 3:03.51 finish at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Now in its 14th 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 www.usatf.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2015 Winners: January 15, Chris Derrick; January 21, Demi Payne; January 28, Casimir Loxsom; February 4, Anselm LeBourne; February 11, Jenny Simpson; February 18, Brycen Spratling; February 25, Maksim Korolev; March 4, Shannon Rowbury; March 11, Mary Norckauer; March 18, Daloria Boone; March 25, Irene Obera; April 2, Michael Stigler; April 8, Allen Woodard; April 15, Joe Kovacs; April 22, Vashti Cunningham; April 29, Jasmin Stowers; May 6, Sanya Richards-Ross; May 13, Bernard Lagat; May 20, Christian Taylor; May 27, David Oliver; June 3, Joe Kovacs; Grant Fisher, June 10; Ben True, June 17; Candace Hill, June 24; Justin Gatlin, July 1.

Join the conversation by following USATF on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About USATF
USA Track & Field 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 country’s No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit http://www.usatf.org/.

We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to Communications@usatf.org.

Ryan Stevens
Communications Intern
Ryan.Stevens@usatf.org




No comments:

Post a Comment