INDIANAPOLIS -- Distance runner Maksim Korolev wins USATF Athlete of the Week honors after his gold-medal performance at the inaugural APA Pan American Cross Country Cup, Sunday, Feb. 22 in Barranquilla, Colombia.
 
Korolev (Harrisonville, Missouri) was crowned individual champion with a 10 km finish of 28:21, helping the Americans to a team gold. Overall the senior men placed three in the top five and five in the top 10, to score 15 points for the win, defeating second-place Ecuador’s 52 points.
 
A graduate student at Stanford University, Korolev secured his spot to represent Team USA earlier this month with his sixth place finish at the USATF Cross Country Championships.
 
He will compete next for Team USA at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China, on March 28.
 
Also with a standout performance this week, Wisconsin senior Michael Lihrman (Rice Lake, Wisconsin) set an NCAA Division I record, a facility record and a PR with his mark of 24.91m/81-8.75) in the 35-pound weight throw on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Red & White Open in the Camp Randall Sports Center. Lihrman broke the previous record of 24.00m/78-9.25 set by Dan Taylor in 2004.
 
Now in its 14th 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 www.usatf.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
 
2015 Winners: January 15, Chris Derrick; January 21, Demi Payne; January 28, Casimir Loxsom; February 4, Anselm LeBourne; February 11, Jenny Simpson; February 18, Brycen Spratling; February 25, Maksim Korolev.
 
About USATF
USA Track & Field is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit http://www.usatf.org/.
 
To nominate an athlete for Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to Communications@usatf.org.