Posted: September 1, 2004

Athletics: Mack named Athlete of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS - Tim Mack has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning the gold medal in the men's pole vault Friday at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Mack did not take the lead in the pole vault until he set a new Olympic record in clearing the winning height of 5.95 meters/19 feet, 6.25 inches. The Olympic Trials champion was in second place for most of the competition behind his U.S. teammate and eventual silver medal winner Toby Stevenson. The pair were left in contention for the gold medal when Italian world champion Giuseppe Gibilisco failed for the third consecutive time with the bar set at 5.85m/19-2.25.

Mack's gold medal was the 19th in Olympic competition for American men in the pole vault. Mack and Stevenson's medals from Athens brought the U.S. grand total in Olympic pole vault history to 44.

Now in its fourth 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.

2004 USATF Athlete of the Week Winners: January 13, Dan Taylor; January 20, Jen Toomey; January 27, Erin Gilreath; February 3, Jearl Miles-Clark; February 10, Alan Culpepper; February 17, Curt Clausen; February 24, Jen Toomey; March 2, Gail Devers; March 9, Allen Johnson; March 16, Sanya Richards; March 23, Phillip Dunn; March 30, Max Springer; April 6, Colleen De Reuck; April 13, Erin Gilreath; April 20, Maurice Greene; May 4, Tonette Dyer; May 11, Toby Stevenson; May 18, Sheena Johnson; May 25, Tim Seaman; June 1, Maurice Greene; June 8, Christian Cantwell; June 15, Stacy Dragila; June 22, Alan Webb; July 6, Le Shundra "DeDee" Nathan; July 13, Maurice Greene; July 20, LaShawn Merritt; July 27, Dwight Phillips; August 3, Briana Shook; August 10, Flo Meiler; August 18, Adam Nelson; August 24, Justin Gatlin; August 30, Tim Mack.

Best Marks Week Ending August 29th:

Men:

200 - 19.79 Shawn Crawford (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/26 World Leader
400 - 44.00 Jeremy Wariner (Baylor) - Athens, GRE 8/23 World Leader
800 - 1:45.31 Jonathan Johnson (Texas Tech) - Athens, GRE 8/25
3000 SC - 8:16.86 Daniel Lincoln (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/24
5000 - 13:20.29 Tim Broe (adidas) - Athens, GRE 8/25
Marathon - 2:11:29 Mebrahtom Keflezighi (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/29
50K Walk - 4:11:31 Curt Clausen (NYAC) - Athens, GRE 8/27
110H - 13.17 Terrence Trammell (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/26
400H - 48.18 James Carter (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/24
PV - 5.95/19-6.25 Tim Mack (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/27 Olympic Record
LJ - 8.59/28-2.25 Dwight Phillips (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/26
DT - 64.33/211-0 Casey Malone (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/23
JT - 87.25/286-3 Breaux Greer (adidas) - Athens, GRE 8/26
Decathlon - 8820 Bryan Clay (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/24 U.S. Leader

Women

200 - 22.18 Allyson Felix (adidas) - Athens, GRE 8/25 World Junior Record
400 - 49.97 Monique Hennagan (Unat.) - Athens, GRE 8/24
800 - 1:57.27 Jearl Miles-Clark (New Balance) - Athens, GRE 8/23 U.S. Leader
1500 - 4:06.46 Carrie Tollefson (adidas) - Athens, GRE 8/24
10,000 - 32:18.16 Elva Dryer (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/27
20K Walk - 1:38:47 Teresa Vaill (Walk USA) - Athens, GRE 8/23
100H - 12.37 Joanna Hayes (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/24 Olympic Record
400H - 53.83 Sheena Johnson (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/25
HJ - 1.99/6-6.25 Amy Acuff (Unat.) - Athens, GRE 8/28
LJ - 6.82/22-4.5 Marion Jones (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/27
HT - 66.71/218-10 Erin Gilreath (NYAC) - Athens, GRE 8/23
JT - 52.18/171-2 Kim Kreiner (Nike) - Athens, GRE 8/25