Gwen Jorgensen (L), Michael Wishnia (R) and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team (C) earned Best of May honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Exceptional performances during the month of May earned triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, Paralympic track and field athlete Michael Wishnia, and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team Best of May honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minnesota) regained the top spot in the world rankings and extended her historic winning streak with two International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series race victories in May. Two weeks after winning the WTS event in Yokohama, Japan, by more than one minute, she claimed the WTS London title, marking her 10th consecutive and 13th career series victory. In London, she led the U.S. women to their second podium sweep of the season – a first for any nation.
Wishnia (San Clemente, California) earned top finishes in the men’s discus and shot put F57 events at the Desert Challenge Games, held May 15-16 in Tempe, Arizona. Competing in a combined F56/57 classification field, Wishnia threw the discus 39.7 meters and hurled the shot put 13.0 meters to set two American records.
The U.S. sled hockey team claimed its third International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship title with a shutout victory over Canada on May 3 in Buffalo, New York. Team USA went undefeated for the first time in event history, outscoring opponents 29-1 and setting team records for most goals scored (29), fewest goals allowed (1) and most shutouts (4) in a single world championship. The U.S. also led the tournament in goals-per-game, goals-against-per-game, shutouts and penalty kill percentage.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/awards.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.
