La Burt's masters 5K win earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors
INDIANAPOLIS -- Winning the women's 60-64 division at the USATF 5K Championships, Suzanne la Burt (Greenwood Lake, NY/USATF New Jersey) earned recognition as the 37th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
La Burt, who also topped the age grading at the USATF Masters 4 Mile Championships in June, clocked 20:41 on the hilly course in Atlanta to win her division by 47 seconds and nab an age grading of 91.88%, the best among women's finishers. Her time placed her eighth overall.
Other top performances from last week:
Rick Lee, 65, won the men's 65-69 division at the USATF 5K Championships in Atlanta, clocking 18:04 to win his age group by 2:22 and earn an age grading of 91.83%, the highest of any men's finisher.
Emily Venters was the top American woman at the Valencia (Spain) Half Marathon, placing 17th overall with a PB of 67:37 that chopped more than a minute off her previous lifetime best. That time tied her for 13th on the all-time U.S. performer list.
Now in its 25th 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 when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker; February 26, Cynthia McNamee; March 5, Chase Jackson; March 12, Lauren Harris; March 19, Garrett Kaalund; March 26, Cooper Lutkenhaus; April 2, Rudy Winkler; April 9, Max Thomas; April 16, Sam Mattis; April 23, Tahmar Upshaw; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 7, Karissa Schweizer; May 14, Anna Cockrell; May 21, Tatyana McFadden; May 28, Masai Russell; June 4, Joe Kovacs; June 11, Gabby Thomas; June 25, Tate Taylor; July 1, Jamal Britt; July 8, Nikki Hiltz; July 15, Jamal Britt; July 22, Cierra Jackson; July 29, Noah Lyles; August 13, Tate Taylor; August 27, Ethan Strand; September 3, Masai Russell; September 10, Chase Jackson; September 17, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden; September 24, Emma Grace Hurley; October 8, Aidan Troutner; October 15, Clayton Young; October 29, Suzanne la Burt.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.
Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.
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