COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee today announced that Carly Patterson, Paul Hamm, and the U.S. Women’s National Team are among the nominees for its 2004 SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year honors. The nominees are the 2004 Athletes and Teams of the Year representing Olympic, Pan American and Affiliated Sport Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.
Patterson won three Olympic medals – All-Around gold, balance beam and team silver – in her first Olympic Games, along with sweeping all four events at the Visa American Cup and winning a share of her first national title. Hamm became the first-ever Olympic All-Around champion for the United States , winning in stunning fashion, and taking home team and high bar silver as well. Hamm also won his third consecutive U.S. all-around national title. The U.S. Women’s Sr. National Team won 79 medals in 14 major international events in 2004, including 16 World Cup medals, 8 Pan American, 8 Pan Pacific, and 6 Olympic medals.
Each year the USOC recognizes the top male and top female athletes and the top team as selected by their respective member organizations. The names of the athletes and teams are placed on ballots used to select the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and overall Team of the Year. Members of the USOC Board of Directors along with representatives of the national media participate in the voting to select the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year.
Honored last year for their accomplishments in 2003 were cyclist Lance Armstrong, figure skater Michelle Kwan and the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team.
Forty-nine males and 49 females, as well as 39 teams, are being honored by the USOC for their athletic accomplishments in 2004. The athletes and teams acknowledged by their respective organizations are:
2004 Male Athletes of the Year
(Sport: Name, Hometown)
Archery: Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.)
Badminton: Raju Rai (Anaheim, Calif.)
Baseball: Ryan Zimmerman (Virginia Beach, Va.)
*Basketball: Sean May (Bloomington, Ind.) and Chris Paul (Lewisville, N.C.)
Biathlon: Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska)
Blind Athletes: Royal Mitchell (Hardeeville, S.C.)
Bobsled: Todd Hays (Del Rio, Texas)
Bowling: Richard Fairley Jr. (Blacksburg, Va.)
Boxing: Andre Ward (Oakland, Calif.)
Canoe/Kayak: Scott Parsons (Sylvania, Ohio)
Curling: Joel Larway (Seattle, Wash.)
Cycling: Lance Armstrong (Austin, Texas)
Diving: Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.)
Equestrian: Chris Kappler (Pittstown, N.J.)
Fencing: Soren Thompson (San Diego, Calif.)
Field Hockey: Shawn Hindy (West Lake Village, Calif.)
Figure Skating: Johnny Weir (Newark, Del.)
Gymnastics: Paul Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.)
Ice Hockey: Zach Parise (Faribault, Minn.)
Judo: Jimmy Pedro (Danvers, Mass.)
Luge: Tony Benshoof (White Bear Lake, Minn.)
Orienteering: Brian May (Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada)
Racquetball: Jack Huczek (Rochester, Mich.)
Roller Sports: C.J. Yoder (Elizabethtown, Pa.)
Rowing: Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Sailing: Johnny Lovell (New Orleans, La.)
Shooting: Matthew Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.)
Skeleton: Chris Soule (Trumbull, Conn.)
Skiing: Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.)
Softball: Chad Boom (Barnesville, Minn.)
Speedskating-Long Track: Chad Hedrick (Spring, Texas)
Speedskating-Short Track: Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.)
Squash: Preston Quick (Greenwich, Conn.)
Swimming: Michael Phelps (Towson, Md.)
Table Tennis: Ilija Lupulesku (Chicago, Ill.)
Taekwondo: Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas)
Team Handball: Italo Zanzi (Manhasset, N.Y.)
Tennis: Andy Roddick (Austin, Texas)
Tennis-Paralympic: David Wagner (Oro Valley, Ariz.)
Track & Field: Justin Gatlin (Raleigh, N.C.)
Triathlon: Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.)
U.S. Paralympics: Casey Tibbs (San Antonio, Texas), Track & Field
Volleyball (Beach): Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Volleyball (Indoor): Kevin Barnett (Naperville, Ill.)
Volleyball (Sitting): Chris Seilkop (DeLand, Fla.)
Water Polo: Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, Calif.)
Water Skiing: Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.)
Wrestling: Cael Sanderson (Heber City, Utah)
*Only one athlete can be listed on SportsMan of Year ballot; if NGB names two, neither is included in the voting.
2004 Female Athletes of the Year
(Sport: Name, Hometown)
Archery: Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.)
Badminton: Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.)
Baseball: Laura Brenneman (Rockville, Md.)
Basketball: Dawn Staley (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Biathlon: Rachel Steer (Anchorage, Alaska)
Blind Athletes: Karissa Whitsell (Springfield, Ore.)
Bobsled: Jean Racine (Waterford, Mich.)
Bowling: Shannon Pluhowsky (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Boxing: Jill Emery (New York, N.Y.)
Canoe/Kayak: Rebeccca Giddens (Green Bay, Wis.)
Curling: Erika Brown (Madison, Wis.)
Cycling: Dede Barry (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Diving: Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas)
Equestrian: Kimberly Severson (Tucson, Ariz.)
Equestion-Paralympic: Lynn Seidemann (Coppell, Texas)
Fencing: Mariel Zaguinis (Beaverton, Ore.)
Field Hockey: Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.)
Figure Skating: Sasha Cohen (Laguna Niguel, Calif.)
Gymnastics: Carly Patterson (Baton Rouge, La.)
Ice Hockey: Natalie Darwitz (Eagan, Minn.)
Judo: Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Luge: Ashley Hayden (Westborough, Mass.)
Orienteering: Erin Olafsen, (Sandwich, N.H.)
Racquetball: Rhonda Rajsich (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Roller Sports: Julie Glass (Jenison, Mich.)
Rowing: Stacey Borgman (Homer, Alaska)
Sailing: Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
Shooting: Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.)