Flanagan named Athlete of the Week

from USATF - INDIANAPOLIS - Olympic Bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after smashing the course record in winning the women's 2010 USA Half Marathon Championship Saturday at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in Texas.

In running a half marathon for the first time in her career, Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) crossed the finish line first in 1 hour 9 minutes 41 seconds, which bettered the previous course record by a margin of one minute, 14 seconds.

Flanagan lived up to her status as the pre-race favorite, taking control of the race from the first mile with defending champion Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.), Serena Burla (Ellisville, Mo.), Renee Metivier Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) and Kelly Jaske (Portland, Ore.) trying to keep pace.

Running a pair of 5:16 miles for the sixth and seventh miles, Flanagan and Burla continued to pull away from the field. A third 5:16 for mile eight saw Flanagan pull away from Burla, extending her lead to win the championship by 28 seconds.

Also in Houston, Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) won the men's race in 1:01:54 to win the first U.S. title of his career.

Now in its ninth 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 13, Jen Clayton; January 20, Shalane Flanagan.