Based on their performances at the 2015 Pan Am Games, Sam Mikulak of Corona Del Mar, Calif./Team Hilton (U.S. Olympic Training Center), and Laura Zeng of Libertyville, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, have been nominated for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Female and Male Best of July Awards. Fans can vote by clicking here. Voting ends Wednesday, August 5 at 7 p.m. ET.
Mikulak won four medals, including the team and all-around golds, at Pan Ams. In the men’s team final, Mikulak led Team USA to its first Pan Ams gold since 1995. Two days later, Mikulak became the first U.S. man to win the all-around at the Pan Am Games since 1987. He wrapped up his impressive competition in Toronto by winning the bronze medals on the floor exercise and parallel bars.
Zeng completed a sweep of the rhythmic gymnastics gold medals in Toronto. She took the titles in the all-around final and all four apparatus finals. She is just the second woman to accomplish this feat at the Pan Ams, after the U.S.’s Mary Sanders won five golds at the 2003 Pan Am Games. Zeng ended the Pan Am Games as the most decorated athlete in the competition. Her five medals tied her with the medal hauls of Canada’s Ellie Black and Brazil’s Thiago Pereira; however, no other athlete claimed five gold medals.