SEAN COMBS - DIDDY NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Rap mogul SEAN 'P DIDDY' COMBS has received the ultimate honour following his successful run in the New York City Marathon - he's been named Athlete of the Week.

USA TRACK + FIELD selected the 34-year-old entrepreneur for its honour yesterday (04NOV02) after he completed the gruelling 26.2 mile (42 kilometre) run on Sunday (02NOV03) and raised $2 million (GBP1.25 million) for charity.

Combs, running in his first marathon, completed the race in 4 hours, 14 minutes, 54 seconds, after training for two months and competing in the race with an injured knee.

Major donors to Combs' cause included JAY-Z, MICHAEL JORDAN, BRUCE WILLIS, BEN AFFLECK and JENNIFER LOPEZ.

Combs plans to split the money among New York City's public school system, the CHILDREN'S HOPE FOUNDATION and DADDY'S HOUSE SOCIAL PROGRAMS, which are two children's advocate groups.

Combs says, "We set a bar and we crushed that bar. This is just a start. This wasn't a publicity stunt."