Sonja doesn’t make a big deal about her beating men. (But I do.)
picked a good time to set a W45 American record in the indoor mile — a week that saw elite kiddies saving themselves for Millrose or indoor nationals. Thus her 4:59.99 easily stood out to Indy HQ as Friday she was
named USATF Athlete of the Week. USATF noted that Sonja, of Boca Raton, Florida — was a 2000 Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1500. (She was sixth in the fastest heat, clocking 4:15.44 behind eventual winner
Regina Jacobs’ 4:06.16). Sonja’s sub-5 would have ranked 10th nationally on the
M45 indoor list last year among all Americans. (And ninth outdoors!) Yowza! In becoming the first masters athlete so honored in 2018, USATF also noted
Rodney Atherton’s M60 AR in the heptathlon. Also a reminder: “To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to
communications@usatf.org.” (If I can do it, anyone can.)
2 Responses
Responding to my queries, Sonja graciously writes from Florida (after taking third at USATF national XC championships in the masters 6K in 22:32.1):
I was completely surprised by the announcement on the USATF website. I actually found out from one of my ATC teammates who tagged me in a post about it as I was about 6 hours into my 7-hour drive to [Tallahassee] the night before XC nationals (late Friday night). It was a great feeling and I am humbly grateful for the recognition. I do plan and hope to go faster later this season!
I will run two other indoor meets this season: The BU Last Chance Meet at the end of February (I will race the mile and maybe the 800m there), and masters indoor nationals in Maryland). My first outdoor meet will most likely be the Florida Relays.
Is that 2005 on bib? Age 34? Marathon to 400 is quite a range! Shows that you don’t just have to run long and when getting older can still drop down in distance an be successful.
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