Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross and others react as Talitha Diggs' mother Joetta accomplishes major feat at 62

Several athletes such as Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross reacted to Talitha Diggs' heartfelt note for her mother. This comes after her mother and former athlete, Joetta Clark Diggs registered a new American Masters World record in the 200m distance at the age of 62.

She touched this feat during the 2025 USATF Masters Indoor Championships where she clocked a run time of 28.62 seconds to win her race. Notably, this was also Diggs' mother's first race in 25 years.

Following this performance, Talitha Diggs shared an emotional note for her mother on her Instagram handle.

One of the most decorated track athletes in the world, Allyson Felix reacted to the post and wrote:

"Love this so much."

Felix's comment on Diggs' post (Image via: Diggs' Instagram)

"So inspiring," wrote four-time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richard-Ross.

Richard-Ross' comment on Diggs' post (Image via: Diggs' Instagram)

British sprinter, Amber Anning remarked:

"So cute."

"This is so impressive," wrote American athlete Sinclair Johnson.

Johnson and Anning's comments on Diggs' post (Image via: Diggs' Instagram)

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Talitha Diggs opens up about facing pressure in her career due to her athletic family

Talitha Diggs before the 4x400m relay finals of the 2024 World Indoor Championships (Image via: Getty Images)

Talitha Diggs shares her thoughts about the pressure she faced about coming to the track and field circuit from a rich athletic family. Diggs' mother Joetta and aunt Hazel Clerk are track and field athletes and have represented the US at the Olympics.

During a conversation with Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green during the Ready Set Go podcast, Diggs revealed that she felt the pressure in her initial years and also mentioned that she also had varied interests in other sports such as skating. She also mentioned that she took track and field seriously after a meet in her eighth standard. She said (via Ready Set Go, 3:38 onwards):

"Definitely felt like pressure to run track and field but I did literally every single sport but that like I did everything you could imagine. I was a figure skater, I was an equestrian like I was doing everything but track and field."

"I think I just wanted to find my own way into the sport and so then I was like, okay once I hit ninth grade, I'll run and I will see. So in eighth grade I ran this meet and I got fifth at nationals so I was like I am pretty fast."

Talitha Diggs has been a national champion in the 400m outdoor events and has also clinched 400m titles at an NCAA level for the Florida Gators (both in 2022). She started off her 2025 season with a 300m race at the Jim Carnes Track and Field meet which she won after clocking 36.77 seconds.