(L-R) Triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, members of the women's 4x400-meter relay team and Paralympic track & field athlete Raymond Martin earn United States Olympic Committee Athlete and Team of the Month honors.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Top performances throughout May earned Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minnesota) and Raymond Martin (Jersey City, New Jersey) Athlete of the Month recognition, while the U.S. women's track & field 4x400-meter relay team received Team of the Month honors, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Jorgensen is currently ranked No. 1 in the world following back-to-back titles in the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series. She won in Yokohama, Japan, on May 17, connecting with the lead pack on the 1,500-meter swim and 40-kilometer bike before running a 33:43 in the 10K run portion to win by nearly 40 seconds. On May 31, Jorgensen raced to her best finish in London's Hyde Park, earning her fifth ITU World Triathlon Series title.
Martin won five events and set a world record at the International Paralympic Committee Grand Prix Desert Challenge, held May 10 in Mesa, Arizona. Martin bested his own T52 200-meter world record by sixteen-hundredths of a second, finishing in 30.02. His success continued with wins in the T52 100, 400, 800 and 1500 events.
The U.S. women's 4x400-meter relay team of Dee Dee Trotter (Cedar Grove, Georgia), Sanya Richards-Ross (Austin, Texas), Natasha Hastings (Brooklyn, New York) and Joanna Atkins (Stone Mountain, Georgia) clinched first place with a time of 3:21.69 at the inaugural International Association of Athletics Federations World Relays, held May 25 in Nassau, Bahamas. The relay team played a large part in Team USA’s golden baton victory, which is awarded to the best overall team.
Paralympic cyclist Shawn Morelli (Leavenworth, Kansas) finished runner-up and cyclist Alison Powers (Pinecliffe, Colorado) claimed third in the female vote. On the men’s side, Paralympic cyclist Will Groulx (Portland, Oregon) and fencer Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, California) earned second and third place. The U.S. national quad wheelchair tennis team finished second, while the diving pair of Amy Cozad (Indianapolis, Indiana) and Katrina Young (Shoreline, Washington) finished third in the team category.
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. Shawn Morelli, Paralympic Cycling
3. Alison Powers, Cycling
MALE
1. Raymond Martin, Paralympic Track & Field
2. Will Groulx, Paralympic Cycling
3. Gerek Meinhardt, Fencing
TEAM
1. U.S. 4x400-meter Women's Relay Team, Track & Field
2. U.S. National Quad Team, Wheelchair Tennis
3. Amy Cozad and Katrina Young, Diving
