BATON ROUGE — LSU track and field recruit Walter Henning made history last weekend by becoming the first American in the 22-year history of the meet to win a gold medal in the hammer throw at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics.
Henning was honored by USA Track and Field on Wednesday as the organization named him the USATF Athlete of the Week for his outstanding performance in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The native of Kings Park, N.Y., dominated the competition at the World Junior Championships as he shattered his own American junior record in the 6-kg. hammer on Saturday after unleashing a throw of 252 feet, 4 inches on his sixth and final throw to win gold for the United States.
A three-time USA Junior champion and 2007 Pan Am Junior gold medalist, Henning is the first American to win a gold medal in the hammer in any major international competition since Harold Connolly won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He is also the first medalist for the United States in the event at the IAAF World Junior Championships.
This marks the second time in his career that Henning has represented the United States as he also wore the red, white and blue at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China.
Henning wraps up a brilliant junior career as one of the top young throwers in the history of youth track and field in the United States. He will compete as a sophomore for the Tigers in 2009 following an outstanding freshman season at North Carolina where he earned indoor All-America honors with a third-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The USATF Athlete of the Week program is in its seventh year of existence and is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of track and field. USA Track and Field rewards a new honoree each week and features each athlete on its official website at www.usatf.org. All selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.