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 May, 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 Tuesday, June 5.
A total of eight sports – including fencing, ice hockey, Para-cycling, Para swimming, paratriathlon, rugby, swimming, and track and field – 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.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.
MAY FINALISTS
Male Athlete of the Month
Mark Barr (Davis, California), Paratriathlon
Dominated the men’s PTS2 race with a time of 1:07:17 to win gold at the world series event in Yokohama, Japan.
Will Groulx (Portland, Oregon), Para-cycling
Secured the top spot in the MH2 world cup rankings after winning gold medals in both the road race and time trial, and helping the handcycle relay team win silver in Ostend, Belgium.
Race Imboden (Brooklyn, New York), Fencing
Earned the No. 1 world ranking in foil after winning the individual bronze medal at the grand prix in Shanghai, while also guiding the U.S. men’s foil team to the gold medal and No. 1 world ranking at the world cup in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Patrick Kane (Buffalo, New York), Ice Hockey
Named MVP of the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championship, setting U.S. single tournament records in points (20) and assists (12) in leading Team USA to the bronze medal.
Galen Rupp (Portland, Oregon), Track and Field
Shaved three minutes off his personal best and recorded the second-fastest marathon time ever for an American (2:06:07) in his win at the Prague Marathon.
Female Athlete of the Month
Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Maryland), Swimming
Improved her world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle, while also posting the second fastest 400 freestyle time and the third fastest 800 freestyle in history at the Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis.
Becca Meyers (Baltimore, Maryland), Para Swimming
Claimed three individual medals and one relay medal, setting four American, three Pan American and one world record at the World Para Swimming World Series in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy.
Allysa Seely (Phoenix, Arizona), Paratriathlon
Covered the sprint-distance course in 1:17:39 to win the women’s PTS2 class by more than a minute and a half at the world series event in Yokohama, Japan.
Jill Walsh (Syracuse, New York), Para-cycling
Captured the gold medal in road race and the silver medal in time trial at the world cup in Ostend, Belgium, climbing to the top of the WT2 world rankings.
Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Oregon), Fencing
Defeated the 2016 Olympic champion en route to winning the saber bronze medal in Moscow, giving her the most career grand prix medals (27) for any women’s saber fencer in the world.
Team of the Month
U.S. Men’s Foil Team, Fencing
The team of Miles Chamley-Watson (New York, New York), Imboden, Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, California) and Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, California) became the first U.S. team to sweep world cup events in a single season after winning its fifth straight title in St. Petersburg to maintain its No. 1 world ranking.
U.S. Men’s National Team, Ice Hockey
Won the bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championship with a 4-1 victory over rival Canada, leading all nations with 46 goals in 10 games.
USA Women’s Eagles Sevens, Rugby
Earned the bronze medal at the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament, marking the first time the U.S. women have earned medals twice in a single season.
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.