USA Track & Field – News – Diamond League victory earns Tia Brooks USATF AOW nod

INDIANAPOLIS — Shot putter Tia Brooks wins USATF Athlete of the Week after recording a personal best to become the world’s No. 2 athlete in the event this year.

Brooks (Grand Rapids, Michigan) won the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, England, where she threw 19.73m/64-8.75, a mark placing her fourth on the U.S. all-time list.

“It didn't feel like it went that far, and I didn't think that I executed technically,” Brooks said. “For it to go that far was definitely a shock.”

The only athlete who has thrown farther than Brooks this year is China’s Lijiao Gong. Brooks’s Birmingham performance stands only a few feet shy of Gong’s season best of 20.43m/67-0.5.

Brooks placed third at the 2012 Olympic Trials and represented Team USA in London, where she did not advance to the final. Brooks’s throw last week was over six feet longer than her mark in London.

Since her Olympic berth, Brooks has represented the United States at the IAAF World Championships both in 2013 and in 2015.

“Making teams takes some of the pressure off,” Brooks said. “I know what the process is like. I know what it's like to not make a team. I know what it's like to not make a final. Those emotions won't be new. It's a little more normal.”

The United States has not won a women’s shot put medal at the Olympic Games since Earlene Brown’s bronze in 1960. Now ranked second in the world this year, Brooks stands a month away from the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field where she will vie for an Olympic spot in Rio de Janeiro.

“The goal is always to make the team in July,” Brooks said. “Team USA is the hardest team to make. Then to give my best shot at winning a medal.”

Other notable performances of the week include the following:

    Tam Gavenas (New York, New York), an 8-year-old, broke the World record for his age after finishing in 18:00 at the Kenny Dolan 5k Memorial Run in Brooklyn, New York.

    Marquise Goodwin (Austin, Texas) won long jump at the Birmingham Diamond League meet, jumping 8.42m/27-7.5 for the world’s second best leap of the year. The only jump longer is Goodwin’s own 8.45m/27-8.75, which he set in May.

    Corrine Malcolm (Bellingham, Washington) won the USATF 50 Mile Trail Championships in only her second race over 50 km. She finished the race in 8:18:28.

    Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Maryland) earned a yet another World record in the wheelchair 100m, finishing in 15.3 in Indianapolis.

    Tyler Sigl (Seymour, Wisconsin) finished first at the USATF 50 Mile Trail Championships in 6:44:12, setting a course record and finishing 11 minutes ahead of the second-place runner.

    Ameer Webb (Tustin, California) won the 200m at the Rome Diamond League meet, finishing in 20.04. In the 100m, Webb placed second, only .01 behind first, after running a personal-best 9.94.

Now in its 15th 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 USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2016 Winners: Jan. 13, Garrett Heath; Jan. 20, Donavan Brazier; Jan. 27, Keni Harrison; Feb. 3, Jenn Suhr; Feb. 10, Vashti Cunningham; Feb. 17, Galen Rupp; Feb. 24, John Nunn; March 2, Curtis Beach; March 11, Bill Collins; March 16, Da’mira Allen; March 24, Michelle Carter; March 31, Janet Bawcom; April 8, Maria Michta-Coffey; April 14, Keni Harrison; April 22, LaShawn Merritt; April 28, Courtney Okolo; May 6, Ida Keeling; May 12, Willie Gault; May 18, Marquise Goodwin; May 25, Gwen Berry; June 2, Keni Harrison; June 8, Tia Brooks.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to Communications@usatf.org. The nomination period closes at 12 p.m. ET every Monday.

Emily Giambalvo