Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway won USA Track and Field Athlete of the Year awards on Thursday following standout seasons that capped with gold medal performances at the Paris Olympics.
Thomas shined at the Paris Games and struck gold in the 200m and grabbed two more gold medals as she helped power Team USA to wins in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. She had a major hand in an American sweep of the 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas in May.
Holloway won gold in the 110m hurdles in Paris and the 60m world indoor title in Glasgow in 7.27 which set a new world record.
High school phenom Quincy Wilson took home the youth athlete award after a strong year on the track that propelled him to his first Olympics at just 16 years old. Wilson drew plenty of attention after lowering the under 18 mark in the 400m three times in 2024. Wilson became the youngest every track and field Olympic gold medalist for Team USA after running the opening leg in the 4x400m qualifying round in Paris.
Joanna Hayes won coach of the year as she helped Rai Benjamin to a successful Olympic campaign in the 400m hurdles in Paris. Benjamin topped the podium with a 46.46 effort and later anchored the men’s 4x400m squad to gold. Hayes was named as the director of track and field at UCLA in June after coaching at USC.
Meanwhile, Nora Cary and Neringa Jakstiene won masters distance and track honors. Cary, at age 69, won three road masters titles in 2024 and Jakstiene, 60, won six gold medals and set four American records at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Sweden in August.
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