Courtesy: United States Olympic Committee
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of April, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Monday, May 6.
A total of 10 sports – including curling, figure skating, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, Para swimming, Para track and field, surfing, weightlifting and wrestling – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories. The finalists’ collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round.
APRIL FINALISTS
Male Athlete of the Month
CJ Cummings (Beaufort, South Carolina), Weightlifting
Swept gold and set 15 records – three junior world, six junior and senior Pan American, and six junior and senior American records – at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
John John Florence (North Shore, Hawaii), Surfing
Won the Pro Bells Beach event in Victoria, Australia, defeating reigning world champion Gabriel Medina and 2017 event champion Jordy Smith to reach the No. 1 spot on the world rankings.
Sam Mikulak (Newport Beach, California), Artistic Gymnastics
Won the all-around title at the world cup in Tokyo, while also earning top scores on the pommel horse and horizontal bar.
Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland), Para Track and Field
Claimed his first-ever victories in the men’s wheelchair division of both the Boston Marathon and London Marathon, en route to earning his first World Para Athletics marathon championship title.
Tiger Woods (Cypress, California), Golf
Won his fifth Masters title in Augusta, Georgia, earning his 81st PGA Tour victory, one shy of the all-time record held by Sam Snead.
Female Athlete of the Month
Julia Gaffney (Mayflower, Arkansas), Para Swimming
Set a world record in the women’s S7 100-meter backstroke at the World Para Swimming World Series event in Indianapolis.
Adeline Gray (Denver, Colorado), Wrestling
Defeated reigning Olympic champion to claim her second straight gold medal at 76 kg. at the Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, earning the designation of Most Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division.
Morgan Hurd (Middletown, Delaware), Artistic Gymnastics
Won the all-around title at the world cup in Tokyo, while also earning top scores on uneven bars and floor exercise.
Caroline Marks (Melbourne Beach, Florida), Surfing
Won the Pro Gold Coast event in Australia and claimed the No. 1 world ranking as the youngest athlete in the World Surfing League.
Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Maryland), Para Track and Field
Finished second in the women’s wheelchair division at the London Marathon, securing the silver medal in the World Para Athletics marathon championships.
Team of the Month
U.S. Mixed Doubles Team, Curling
Cory Christensen (Duluth, Minnesota) and John Shuster (Superior, Wisconsin) earned the bronze medal at the world mixed doubles championship in Stavanger, Norway, the second medal won by the U.S. in tournament history.
U.S. World Team Trophy Team, Figure Skating
Captured its fourth World Team Trophy title in Fukuoka, Japan, topping the field of Japan, Russia, France, Canada and Italy by more than 10 points.
U.S. Women’s World Championship Team, Ice Hockey
Went undefeated to claim its fifth consecutive gold medal at the women’s world championship in Espoo, Finland.
SELECTION PROCESS
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.