John Nunn Athlete of the Week
INDIANAPOLIS – Olympian John Nunn (San Diego, Calif.) has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after he lead Team USA to a second place finish at the Pan American Race Walk Cup held in Medellin, Colombia on Sunday.Nunn covered the 20 km course at altitude in 1:31.26 to capture 11th place out of 30 competitors. Over the first half of the race, Nunn followed off the back of the lead pack and motivated himself to pass athletes as they began to fall off the pace.
Nunn not only led Team USA with the fastest performance of the day, but also with his perspective as a veteran athlete. Nunn gathered his teammates Patrick Stroupe and Dan Seriani before the start of the race to help motivate them for the competition.
“We are in a situation where we can medal. I feel confident that we can be on the podium,” Nunn proclaimed. “But all three of us have to keep fighting the whole way, and I’m confident we can do it.”
Nunn’s confidence paid off as Stroupe held off two competitors to finish right behind his teammate in 12th place. Serani completed the trio’s efforts with a 1:34:50 to take 16th place.
“It was a team effort,” Nunn said, “We couldn’t have gotten to the podium without three solid performances.”
The team was able to bring home the Pan Am Silver in the best finish by a USA Men’s squad since 2003 when the men took the 20 km title in Tijuana, México.
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
