4 AMERICAN WOMEN RATED No. 1s in our By-Event World Top 10s. They fill our first 4 slots here, with Brittney Reese accorded the honor of U.S. Women’s Athlete Of The Decade. The selection of these U.S. people pays more attention to a domestic point of view than do the world choices.
The Top 10 U.S. Women of the Teens:
1. Brittney Reese
The decade’s best long jumper never won a U.S. Athlete Of The Year title from T&FN’s voters, but she made the first 5 in the voting a half-dozen times (2-3-3-3-4-5) for a notable sequence of support. In the LJ she was the top-ranked American on 7 occasions (and 2-2-3 in the other years)… Her best jump of 23-11¾ (7.31) moved her to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. list… For more details on Reese—who won 9 major international medals—see her bio in the World Top 10.
2. Allyson Felix
The long-sprinter supreme got a lot of love when it came to USAOY voting time, backing up 3 No. 1s (’10, ’12, ’15) with a 4-5-10 combo… At the world level she rated No. 1 in the 200 and No. 2 in the 400 for the decade, leading the 200 three times and the 400 twice… She moved to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. list in each event, running 21.69 and 49.26… She scored 18 U.S. Rankings: 8 in the 200 (5 No. 1s), 6 in the 400 (4 No. 1s) and 4 in the 100 (high of No. 3).
3. Dalilah Muhammad
Both of Muhammad’s 400H WRs were of course also ARs, and that recordsetting propelled her to the No. 3 spot… She was U.S.-Ranked 5 times in the decade: 3 No. 1s and a pair of No. 2s. She also earned a No. 9 in the flat 400… For more details on the ’19 USAOY, see Muhammad’s bio in the World Top 10.
4. Jenn Suhr
Indoor vault WRs came Suhr’s way twice (16-5½/5.01 and 16-6/5.03), both of which also rated as absolute U.S. bests. Overall, she claimed the 3 highest U.S. marks ever… In the U.S. Rankings department she racked up 5 No. 1s, 3 No. 2s and 2 No. 3s… With Olympic and WIC golds, plus WC silver, she ended up as the world’s No. 1 for the decade.
5. Michelle Carter
The best U.S. best putter ever twice set American Records outdoors (66-5/20.24 & 67-8¼/20.63) to go with her indoor standard (66-3¾/20.21)… She was 5 times the U.S. No. 1 and won 10 USATF titles (5 in, 5 out)… Her international medal collection was notable with Olympic gold, 2 WC silvers and WIC gold and silver.
6. Emma Coburn
American Records in the steeplechase frequently came Coburn’s way—4 of them, in fact: 9:11.42, 9:10.76, 9:07.63, 9:02.58… Also frequent were No. 1 U.S. Rankings: 9 straight from ’11 through ’19… She claimed a perfect set of international medals with her WC gold & silver and OG bronze…
7. Chaunté Lowe
The decade’s best high jumper claimed 5 U.S. No. 1s and twice raised the American Record, to 6-8¼ (2.04) and 6-8¾ (2.05). She also raised the indoor AR to 6-7½ (2.02). Overall, she produced 6 of the 10 highest U.S. jumps ever… She was an 8-time USATF champion (5 outdoors, 3 in)… 3 times World Ranked in the top 3, she claimed World Indoor gold and bronze medals.
8. DeAnna Price
Coming on like gangbusters as the decade closed, Price emerged as the nation’s best hammer thrower ever, claiming 3 ARs: 254-9 (77.65), 256-3 (78.12) and 256-8 (78.24). The last of those moved her to No. 3 on the all-time world list… The runner-up in USAOY voting for ’19, she claimed the WC gold medal.
9. Kara Winger
The javelin leader went 10-for-10 in making the U.S. Rankings, 7 of them being No. 1s, matching her number of U.S. titles… Topped by her American Record 218-8 (66.67), she overwhelmed the all-time U.S. list, producing the 6 longest throws ever, plus Nos. 8–10.
10. Tori Bowie
The ’17 USAOY left her footprints all over the U.S. Rankings, appearing 14 times, with 6 wins: 5 appearances/4 wins in the 100, 4/2 in the 200 and 5/high of No. 2 in the long jump… Internationally she notched 5 medals: OG 100 silver and 200 bronze; WC 100 gold & bronze… Her PRs of 10.78 and 21.77 moved her to =No. 7 and =No. 5 on the all-time U.S. list.
Previous AOD Winners
We first started picking women’s by-decade stars after the ’70s. Our 4 winners since then:
The ’70s—Kate Schmidt
The ’80s—Jackie Joyner-Kersee
The ’90s—Gail Devers
The ‘00s—Sanya Richards-Ross ◻︎
