The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has announced triathletes Gwen Jorgensen and Hailey Danisewicz as 2014-15 finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes year-round.
Fans are invited to vote for their favourite athletes and teams at teamusa.org/awards through Friday 20 November. The Team USA Awards honour the athletes and teams of the year in six categories:
- Female Olympic Athlete of the Year, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods
- Male Olympic Athlete of the Year
- Olympic Team of the Year, presented by Dow
- Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods
- Male Paralympic Athlete of the Year
- Paralympic Team of the Year, presented by Dow
Gwen Jorgensen clinched her second straight world championship title by securing the number one ranking (5,200 points) at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago. The only US woman to win back-to-back world titles in triathlon, Jorgensen outdistanced the field by more than 29 seconds and topped the season rankings by 1,119 points. With her win in Chicago, she extended a winning streak that began in May 2014, and she owns an unprecedented 12 consecutive wins on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit and is the first triathlete – man or woman – to complete an undefeated season.
In 2014, Jorgensen capped a record-breaking season as the only woman in ITU World Triathlon Series history to win eight career series events and five in one season, posting the fastest run split of the field in every 2014 WTS event in which she competed.
Jorgensen also qualified for the 2016 US Olympic Triathlon Team with a win at the Rio de Janeiro 2015 ITU World Olympic Qualification Event in August 2015.
“I am so honoured to be nominated for the Team USA Awards Best of 2014-15, along with a large contingent of talented athletes from different sports,” Jorgensen said. “Being nominated for this award can also be accredited to the team around me as much as my efforts in training and racing. My coach, husband, training partners and sponsors are also putting in the long hours to help me show up on race day prepared.”
Hailey Danisewicz is a finalist for the Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year. She won the 2015 Sunshine Coast ITU World Paratriathlon Event in March in Australia, and was crowned winner of the women’s PT2 sport class at the 2015 Monterrey CAMTRI Triathlon American Championships.
Danisewicz also claimed victory at the 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Paratriathlon Event, provisionally qualifying for the first-ever 2016 US Paralympic Triathlon Team. She became the first US triathlete ever to qualify for the Paralympic Games as paratriathlon makes its debut in Rio next year when the US earned a team spot with a win in the PT2 sport class at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in Chicago.
“To be a finalist for Best of the Year is an honour that’s hard to put into words,” Danisewicz said. “2015 was a breakthrough year for me, and I grew a lot both athletically and personally – this nomination is simply the icing on the cake.
“My four fellow nominees are unequivocally some of the most successful and admirable women in the Paralympic Movement, and to be included among them is a source of true pride.”
Formerly known as the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year awards, the honours began in 1974. The impressive and diverse collection of past winners – from Carl Lewis (track and field) and Bonnie Blair (speedskating) to Michael Phelps (swimming) and Jessica Long (Paralympic swimming) – represent nearly 30 sports on the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic programs. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of the US Olympic and Paralympic movements throughout history. Four-time Olympian Hunter Kemper was named USOC SportsMan of the Year in 2005.
Jorgensen, Danisewicz and other accomplished athletes were considered for the Best of the Year as finalists for Best of the Month honours, dating back to the autumn/fall of the previous year and coinciding with the sport calendar. A USOC nominating committee then selected the top-five finalists in the individual categories and top three in the team categories to advance to the voting round.
Online fan voting at teamusa.org/awards accounts for 50% of the final tally, while members of the Olympic and Paralympic family – including a panel of Olympic and Paralympic journalists – account for the other 50%.
The six award winners will be announced during the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year, to be held on 10 December at the University of Pennsylvania’s Houston Hall in Philadelphia. The awards show will be televised on NBCSN on 27 December, from 15:00-16:00 ET.
The year-end celebration will also recognize the Building Dreams Award, presented by USG, which honours an individual, group or community that has gone above and beyond in its support of Team USA.
In addition to presenting sponsor Dow, four USOC partners – DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG – are associate sponsors of the Team USA Awards program.
