INDIANAPOLIS -- Race walker Erin Taylor-Talcott earns USATF Athlete of the Week after setting American and World records at USATF Race Walk Championships, hosted by the Steamy Santee 50K Walk on Sunday in Santee, California.
 
Talcott (Owego, New York), a long-time advocate for allowing women to compete at the traditionally male 50 km distance, completed the 31 miles in 5:03:34 at 9:47 pace in scorching 90-degree conditions to finish first among women and eighth overall. 
 
She earns the new records after the International Association of Athletics Federations, on Nov. 1, adopted new rules to recognize women’s 50 km marks eligible for both World and American records. Prior to the rule change, Talcott completed the same course in 4:33:23 at 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials - Race Walk.
 
(Unofficially, the fastest known women’s time at 50 km is 4:10:59 set by Sweden’s Monica Svensson.)
 
Other notable performances of the week include:

• Molly Seidel (Harland, Wisconsin) of Notre Dame won the NCAA Division-I Cross Country title in Louisville by five seconds, clocking 19:28.6 on the 6 km course to earn second national title. On the track, she won earned the 10,000m crown in June at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
• John Nunn (Evansville, Indiana) won the USATF 50 km Race Walk Championships on Sunday at Santee Sees 50K Walk in Santee, California, with his finish in 4:04:08, just 40 seconds off the qualifying standard for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
• Ian LaMere (Green Bay, Wisconsin) of Wisconsin-Platteville dominated the men’s NCAA Division-III Cross Country Championships at Winneconne, Wisconsin, where he ran 23:35.4 over 8 km to win by almost 40 seconds.

 
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; June 10, Grant Fisher; June 17, Ben True; June 24, Candace Hill; July 1, Justin Gatlin; July 8, Evan Jager; July 15, Christian Taylor; July 22, Shannon Rowbury; July 29, Anthony Bailey; August 5, Harrison Williams; August 12, Flo Meiler; Sept. 2, Ashton Eaton; Sept. 18, Camille Herron; Sept. 24, Don Pellmann; Sept. 30, Deena Kastor; Oct. 7, Molly Huddle; Oct. 14, Deena Kastor; Oct. 28, Camille Herron; Nov. 4, Tatyana McFadden; Nov. 11, Judy Pendergast; Nov. 18, Molly Huddle; Nov. 27, Erin Taylor-Talcott.
 
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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.