STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford's Maksim Korolev followed up his Pan American Cup cross country title by being named Athlete of the Week by USA Track and Field.
In his first race for the U.S. national team, Korolev won the 10K (6.2-mile) race in Barranquilla, Colombia, on Sunday in 28:21. Korolev kicked past the field with a late surge to earn a 10-second victory over runner-up Gilberto Silvestre Lopes of Brazil and thereby earn the distinction as the champion of the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. won the team title in a meet organized by the Association of Panamerican Athletics. The meet also served as the NACAC -- covering North and Central America and the Caribbean -- and South American championships.
Korolev second active Stanford runner in as many years to win an international cross country competition. Last year, Sean McGorty, now a sophomore, won the NACAC junior championship in Trinidad.
A graduate student in management science and engineering, Korolev placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in November and will compete in the outdoor track and field season for Stanford. Korolev had qualified for the U.S. team through his sixth-place performance at the U.S. Championships on Feb. 7 in Boulder, Colorado.
Korolev next races for the U.S. at the IAAF World Championships in Guiyang, China, on March 28.
