The United States Olympic Committee today announced the 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 8.
A total of 10 sports – equestrian, figure skating, gymnastics, ice hockey, Paralympic track and field, racquetball, sled hockey, tennis, track and field and weightlifting – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories.
Each of the finalists automatically qualify for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round. A complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period can be found at TeamUSA.org. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held in December.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.
APRIL FINALISTS
Male Athlete of the Month
CJ Cummings, Jr. (Beaufort, South Carolina), Weightlifting
Defended his youth world title in Bangkok with a 317 kg. total, setting a youth world record in the clean and jerk with a 185 kg. lift and besting his previous world record of 182 kg.
Declan Farmer (Tampa, Florida), Sled Hockey
Named Best Forward of the Tournament after setting U.S. records with 12 goals and 18 points to help the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team earn the silver medal at the Para Sled Hockey World Championship.
Clayton Murphy (New Paris, Ohio), Track and Field
Anchored the U.S. 4x800 team to victory over Kenya at the IAAF World Relays, while also winning the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, the 1,500 at Drake Relays and the 800 at Mt. SAC Relays with a world-leading time of 1:43.60.
Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Michigan), Ice Hockey
Backstopped Team USA to the gold medal at the IIHF Men’s U18 World Championship, playing every minute of all seven U.S. wins and leading the tournament with a 1.96 GAA.
McLain Ward (Brewster, New York), Equestrian
Clinched the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final with HH Azur at the FEI World Cup Finals, winning all three legs to secure the overall title in his 17th appearance at the event.
Female Athlete of the Month
Laura Graves (Geneva, Florida), Equestrian
Placed second at the FEI World Cup Dressage Final with Verdades, earning a personal-best score of 85.307 percent to finish second in the Grand Prix Freestyle and secure a top-three finish in the final.
Jordan Hasay (Arroyo Grande, California), Track and Field
Finished third at the Boston Marathon, recording the fastest marathon debut by an American woman in 2:23:00 and becoming the fourth-fastest marathoner in USATF history.
Amanda McGrory (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania), Para Track and Field
Won back-to-back medals at the Boston and London marathons in a span of one week, finishing second in both events while recording an American-record time of 1:33:13 in Boston.
Rhonda Rajsich (Fountain Hills, Arizona), Racquetball
Won her third Pan American Championship singles title – and first since 2011 – dethroning world No. 1 Paola Longoria of Mexico, who had previously gone unbeaten in the last six years of international competition.
Laura Zeng (Libertyville, Illinois), Rhythmic Gymnastics
Won seven medals – including the all-around title at the MTM Ljubljana International Tournament – and finished fourth at the 2017 Pesaro World Cup, marking the highest finish ever by an American at the event.
Team of the Month
Maia and Alex Shibutani (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Figure Skating
Won bronze with a score of 185.81, claiming the only U.S. medal at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships and helping Team USA qualify three spots in ice dance for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
U.S. Women’s Fed Cup Team, Tennis
Propelled by a decisive win from world No. 1 doubles team Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe, advanced to its first Fed Cup Final since 2010 with a 3-2 win over three-time defending champion Czech Republic.
U.S. Women’s World Championship Team, Ice Hockey
Led by tournament MVP Brianna Decker, went undefeated to claim its fourth straight world title, eighth overall and first on home ice with a 3-2 victory over rival Canada at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
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.
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