High Jumper Chaunte Lowe, Weightlifter Kendrick Farris and the Bryan Brothers Honored by U.S. Olympic Committee for Outstanding Performances in May

USOC June 08, 2010

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) announced high jumper Chaunte Lowe and weightlifter Kendrick Farris as its May Athletes of the Month, while the Bryan Brothers were awarded Team of the Month honors.

Lowe (Decatur, Ga.), a 2010 World Indoor bronze medalist, set the American record in the women's high jump on Sunday, May 31 at the 21st Lausitzer International Athletics Meeting in Cottbus, Germany. A three-time USA Outdoor champion, Lowe cleared 2.04m/6-8.25 to win the women's high jump and break the 22-year-old American record.

Farris (Shreveport, La.) won his first Pan American title and broke the American record in the clean and jerk at the Pan Am Championships on Saturday, May 29, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Farris dominated the event, winning not only the overall gold medal, but taking first place in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. Farris broke the clean and jerk American record he set at the Beijing Olympic Games with his lift of 203kg. Farris also tied his total American record from the 2008 Games with his combined lift of 362kg.

Bob and Mike Bryan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) tied the all-time Open era record of 61 team doubles titles after winning back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters Series events in May. The world's No. 1 doubles team also won three matches during Team USA's run to the World Team Championship final in Germany. The Americans are now tied with Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the all-time record of most team doubles titles in the Open era.

Each National Governing Body may nominate up to but no more than one female, one male and one team per discipline. The winners are then voted on from that pool of nominees.

Taking second place in this month's female category was Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Ma.) winning her first Senior World Cup on May 30 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Harrison went 4-0 to win gold in the 78kg division, upsetting 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Cuba's Yalennis Castillo in the semifinals. Harrison also defeated 13-time World Cup medalist, Canadian Amy Cotton in the quarterfinals and two-time Pan Am champion Mayra Aguiar in the finals.

Coming in third place was Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo.), who on May 2, became the first American female mountain biker to grab the World Cup leader's jersey since Alison Dunlap in 2002. Koerber earned a World Cup silver medal for the second time in as many weeks at round two of the World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium in early May. During round three of the World Cup, held in Offenburg, Germany on May 23, Koerber placed 13th and now sits in second overall in the World Cup standings heading into June racing.

Coming in second place in the Male Athlete of the Month voting was Myles Porter (Colorado Springs, Colo).He made history on May 1, as he became the first visually impaired U.S. player ever to win a medal at the USA Judo Senior National Championships. Porter, a 2008 Paralympian, placed second in the able-bodied Senior Nationals and is now ranked as the No. 2 100kg player in the United States among sighted competitors.

Taking third was the 2009 USA Outdoor 5,000m runner-up Chris Solinsky (Madison, Wis.). In his debut performance on May 1, he became the first American to run under 27 minutes in the men's 10,000m, winning the race in an American record 26:59.60 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Solinsky's time is also a North American area record.

Placing second in the team voting was Brady Ellison (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) who made history at the first stage of the 2010 Archery World Cup in Porec, Croatia on May 8 by winning the first-ever mixed team international event. The American duo opened up the gold-medal match with a 35-33 first end score over China and never looked back in taking home the gold with a 141-139 victory in this historic event.

Coming in third place was David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Nick McCrory (Chapel Hill, N.C.) who won the gold medal in the men's synchronized 10-meter competition at the AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on May 9. In their first international competition together, Boudia and McCrory totaled 461.19 points to edge out 2008 Olympic 10-meter synchronized gold medalist Lin Yue and his new partner Yang Liguang, who finished second at 460.83. Beijing silver medalists Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding of Germany took third with 451.14 points.

Women:

  1. Chaunte Lowe, Track and Field
  2. Kayla Harrison, Judo
  3. Willow Koerber, Cycling

Men:

  1. Kendrick Farris, Weightlifting
  2. Myles Porter, Judo
  3. Chris Solinsky, Track and Field

Team:

  1. Bob and Mike Bryan, Tennis
  2. Brady Ellison/Jennifer Nichols, Archery
  3. David Boudia/Nick McCrory, Diving

For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at (719) 866-4529 or visit www.teamusa.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Tags: Athlete/Team of the Month, Bob Bryan, Brady Ellison, Chaunte Lowe, Chris Solinksky, David Boudia , high jump, Jennifer Nichols, Kayla Harrison, Kendrick Farris, Mike Bryan, Myles Porter, Nick McCrory, Pan American Championships, USA Archery, USA Cycling, USA Diving, USA Judo, USA Tennis, USA Track & Field, USA Track and Field, USA Weightlifting, Willow Koerber