USOC SportsMan, SportsWomen, Paralympian and Team of the Year Announced

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Four individual athletes and one team that epitomize excellence both on and off the field of play are being honored by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for their accomplishments in 2008. Swimmer Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) has been named the USOC SportsMan of the Year, swimmer Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) and gymnast Nastia Liukin (Parker, Texas) have been named co-winners of the USOC SportsWoman of the Year, swimmer Erin Popovich (Silverbow, Mont.) has been named Paralympian of the Year and the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team has been named Team of the Year.

"Through their actions both on and off the field of play in Beijing and throughout 2008, these athletes truly represent the best of what the United States has to offer and make us all proud to be Americans," USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr said. "Their achievements were central to the narrative of the largest Modern Olympic and Paralympic Games in history, and we at the USOC are proud to announce this year's recipients of SportsMan, SportsWoman, Paralympian and Team of the Year."

Phelps made history in Beijing by winning eight gold medals, the most ever won by an athlete in a single Olympic Games. His career total of 16 Olympic medals, including 14 gold medals, distinguishes him as the most decorated male Olympian of all time. In Beijing alone, he set seven World Records, eight American Records and eight Olympic Records. At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming, he set two World Records, two American Records and two U.S. Open Records. Phelps was recently named Sports Illustrated's 2008 SportsMan of the Year and the Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year. Phelps was also USOC SportsMan of the Year in 2004.

With a tie vote, Coughlin and Liukin share honors as this year's SportsWoman of the Year. Coughlin set five American Records and one Olympic Record on her way to becoming the first American woman in any Olympic sport to win six medals in one Olympiad, bringing her career total to 11 Olympic medals. She earned a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke; silver medals in the 400-meter freestyle relay and 400-meter medley relay; and bronze medals in the 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter freestyle and 800-meter free relay.

Equally as impressive, Liukin won five medals at the Olympic Games, including a gold medal in the all-around, becoming just the third U.S. woman in history to win the Olympic all-around title. Her medals total also included three silver for team, balance beam and uneven bars, and a bronze for floor exercise, which tied the U.S. gymnastics record of five medals at one Olympic Games set by Mary Lou Retton in 1984 and matched by Shannon Miller in 1992. Liukin was recently named the Women's Sports Foundation's 2008 Individual Sportswoman of the Year and the United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Year.

In her third Paralympic Games, Popovich, named the 2008 Paralympian of the Year, collected four gold medals and two silver and brought her career total to 14 gold medals and five silver medals. In Beijing, she earned gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle (S7), 400-meter freestyle (S7), 100-meter breaststroke (SB7) and 200-meter individual medley (SM7), along with silver medals in the 50-meter butterfly (S7) and 50-meter freestyle (S7). Popovich also was the 2004 USOC Paralympian of the Year. In 2005, she was named the Women's Sports Foundation's Individual Sportswoman of the Year and won an ESPY award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability. She has also been honored by Swimming World magazine.

The 2008 Team of the Year did not lose a match at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team won the gold medal - and the first U.S. indoor volleyball gold medal since 1988 - with teammates Lloy Ball (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.), Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.), Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.), Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.), David Lee (Alpine, Calif.), Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.), Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.), Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.), Riley Salmon (League City, Texas), Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Scott Touzinsky (St. Louis, Mo.). Ranked No. 3 in the world heading into Beijing, the team defeated No. 1 Brazil, No. 2 Russia, No. 4 Bulgaria and No. 5 Serbia. The same team of players qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games by winning the NORCECA Continental Qualifier in January 2008 in Puerto Rico. The team's victory in Beijing capped an emotional Olympic Games for head coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand), whose father-in-law was attacked and killed in Beijing shortly after the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1974 to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations. The team award was added in 1996, and the Paralympian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 2004. Winners are selected from the individual female and male athlete of the year and team of the year nominations of the USOC and National Governing Bodies for the Olympic, Pan American, Affiliated and Disabled Sports Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

Tags: Erin Popovich, Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, Natalie Coughlin, Natalie Coughlin, US Men's National Volleyball Team