Gault named Athlete of the Week

Willie Gault - Athlete of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS – Masters phenom Willie Gault has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after he set masters 50-54 world records in the 100 meter (10.88) and 200m (22.44) last weekend at the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles.
Running against collegiate athletes, Gault was successful in turning in two record-breaking performances in the span of two-and-a-half hours. In his first race of the day, Gault bettered the nine-year-old 100m record of Bill Collins by seven-hundredths of a second. For the second race of the day, Gault faced a tight turn as he ran in lane one, but still managed to better the existing record by nearly one-tenth of a second.

While Gault has enjoyed a long run of sporting success in both track and football, the honor of setting a world record is not lost on the former Super Bowl and IAAF Track & Field World Champion.

“I cherish what I do,” Gault said. “I am very fortunate to be in this sport, and I don’t take it for granted. I just love the sport; track and field is the greatest sport in the world.”

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