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Gwen Jorgensen celebrates winning the ITU World Triathlon Series race on May 11, 2013 in Yokohama, Japan. |
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Top performances throughout May earned triathlete Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) and Paralympic long jumper Josh Kennison (South Paris, Maine) Athlete of the Month recognition, while the U.S. Women's National Water Polo Team received Team of the Month honors, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Just three weeks after a historic win in San Diego, Jorgensen raced her way to another gold medal and the world No. 1 ranking at the 2013 International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series Yokahama, held May 10. Jorgensen clocked a time of 1:57:05 on the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10K run course en route to her second straight ITU World Triathlon Series win. Jorgensen is the first American to top the ITU World Triathlon Series standings since it began in 2009, and the first U.S. woman to claim the top spot in the triathlon world rankings in nearly a decade.
Facing more than a dozen top Paralympic competitors in the world, Kennison broke the world record in the men's long jump (F43) with a distance of 5.54 meters at the 2013 Desert Challenge Games, held May 18 in Mesa, Ariz. With a new world record in hand, Kennison's closest competition was 40 centimeters behind his mark. The previous world record was 5.29 meters, set by Kennison at the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Trials for Track & Field.
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United States players celebrate winning the women's water polo gold-medal match between the United States and Spain at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Water Polo Arena on Aug. 9, 2012. |
The 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. Women's National Water Polo Team opened its reign as champion by capturing first place at the International Swimming Federation (FINA) World League Preliminaries, held May 24-27 in Los Alamitos, Calif. Team USA did not drop a single match - defeating Brazil twice by convincing scores of 10-0 and 11-1. The U.S continued its success in the water with two victories against rival Canada, 11-7 and 8-7, to finish with an impressive 4-0 record.
Tennis' Serena Williams (Saginaw, Mich.) and show jumping's Christine McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) earned second and third place in the female vote. On the men's side, track & field's Tyson Gay (Lexington, K.Y.) finished runner-up, while wrestling's Jordan Burroughs (Sicklerville, N.J.) claimed third. The volleyball pair of Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) finished second in the team competition, while the sibling tennis duo Bob Bryan (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.) and Mike Bryan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) rounded out the voting in third.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. A voting panel selects the winners from the pool of nominees with online fan voting via Twitter accounting for 10 percent of the total vote.
FEMALE
1. Gwen Jorgensen, Triathlon
2. Serena Williams, Tennis
3. Christine McCrea, Show Jumping
MALE
1. Josh Kennison, Paralympic Track & Field
2. Tyson Gay, Track & Field
3. Jordan Burroughs, Wrestling
TEAM
1. U.S. Women's National Team, Water Polo
2. Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, Beach Volleyball
3. Bob and Mike Bryan, Tennis