Heather Durrant, fresh off of her double wins at the AAU Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, was recognized as having the Outstanding Performance of the competition. Durrant won the 3000m Race Walk in 14:03.32 on Day 2 (7/31) in a National Meet Record and came back 2 days later (8/2) to win the 1500m in 4:50.40.
Her Walk was astounding, as she lapped the entire field to win by 1:52.52 and break the record (14:46.35) by 43.03. In the Run, she also won handily, besting the nearest competitor by 2.98 seconds.
About the Joel Ferrell Award
The AAU, along with the assistance and the guidance of the Joel Ferrell family, established the Joel Ferrell Memorial Award to recognize the athletic ability and sportsmanship of an athlete representing each official sport at the AAU Olympic Games. In addition to the award presented at the Games, each recipient’s name will be engraved on a special plaque at the AAU National Headquarters.
Joel Ferrell, a former aerospace engineer, made numerous contributions to the AAU. He held several positions with the AAU, including the presidency from 1976-78. In December 1998, he passed away in his hometown of Tullahoma, Tennessee.
