Bob Lida of Wichita wasn’t in Kansas anymore. South Korea was about as far as you get from Dorothy and Toto Land. In fact, Bob was the Wizard of Daegu — setting M80 world records in the 200 and 400. And topping off the week, he was named USATF Athlete of the Week. “Lida surpassed his own M80 200m WR, clocking 29.15 to easily take down his 29.84 from the USATF Masters Indoor Championships in Albuquerque last month,” USATF said. “Lida then took down the listed M80 400m world record of 1:11.24 (Earl Fee, Canada, 2009), finishing in 1:10.20. In addition, Lida won gold in the 60m also helped secure top honors in the 4x200m relay. Lida’s world-class performances contributed to Team USATF’s 42 gold and 108 total medals. USA came in third overall, out of 74 nations and more than 4,600 athletes, behind Australia and Great Britain.”

Bob also won the 60 and helped Team USA take the 4×2. Rob Jerome photo

Here’s the rest of the USATF release:

Other notable performances include:

Sam Chelanga’s (Colorado Springs, Colorado) 11th place finish in the senior men’s race was the top individual showing by Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at the Kololo Independence Grounds on Sunday, March 26. For finishing inside the top 15 (29:13), Chelanga earned an automatic IAAF qualifying standard in the 10,000m for this summer’s IAAF World Championships, provided he makes the U.S. team in that event.

85-year-old Gloria Krug (New Oxford, Pennsylvania) topped Team USATF’s individual golds with seven field event wins at the WMA Indoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Of her seven gold medals, Krug turned in four American record performances in the discus throw (15.75m), triple jump (3.41m), weight throw (8.10m) and shot put (6.81m).

Kathy Martin (Northport, New York) turned in two W65 world records at the WMA Indoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea last week. She kicked off her competition on Wednesday by breaking Angela Copson’s world indoor record in the 3000m, crossing the line in an incredible 11:35.98. On Saturday, Martin beat another of Copson’s world records, this time in the 1500m in 5:25.29, taking over 10 seconds off Copson’s previous best (5:36.88).

Aliphine Tuliamuk (Santa Fe, New Mexico) finished 15th in her first appearance in the red, white and blue, finishing in 33:43 at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda on Sunday, March 26. For finishing inside the top 15 of the senior women’s 10 km, Tuliamuk earned an automatic IAAF qualifying standard in the 10,000m for this summer’s IAAF World Championships, provided she makes the U.S. team in that event.
Southeastern Louisiana’s Alex Young (Nashville, Tennessee) won the hammer throw this past weekend at the Miami Hurricane Collegiate Invitational. Young, the 2017 USATF Indoor Champion in the weight throw, utilized his sixth and final throw to turn in a massive PR of 71.24m/233-9, and leads the nation in the men’s hammer throw by more than eight feet.

Now in its 16th 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.

2017 Winners: January 5, Miranda Melville; January 12, Leonard Korir; January 19, Jordan Hasay; January 26, Keni Harrison; February 2, Michael Wardian; February 9, Mikey Brannigan; February 16, Ajee’ Wilson; February 23, Kathy Martin; March 2, Keturah Orji; March 9, Noah Lyles; March 16, Christian Walker; March 23, Allen Woodard; March 30, Bob Lida.

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.