Tatyana McFadden (L), Mikey Brannifan (R) and the women's ice hockey team (C) earned Best of April honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Outstanding performances during the month of April earned Paralympic track and field athletes Mikey Brannigan and Tatyana McFadden, and the U.S. women’s ice hockey team Best of April honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Brannigan broke two world records (pending IPC ratification) within a week at the University of California-San Diego Triton Invitational and Penn Relays. He clocked a 3:51.35 in the 1,500-meter at the Triton Invite on April 23. He then recorded a 14:33.58 in the men’s 5,000 at the Penn Relays on April 29, shaving nearly 53 seconds off the previous mark.
McFadden began her pursuit for a fourth straight wheelchair marathon grand slam with victories at the Boston and London marathons in April. She claimed the Boston Marathon crown on April 18, finishing more than a minute ahead of the field to break the tape in 1:42:16. Six days later, she captured the women’s title at the London Marathon, which doubled as the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup, with a time of 1:44:14.
The U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team went undefeated at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship and claimed its third consecutive title – and sixth in seven years – with an exciting 1-0 overtime victory over rival Canada in the gold-medal game. The U.S. outscored its opponents, 23-2, and recorded shutouts in its final three games. Team USA defeated Canada, 3-1; Finland, 2-1; and Russia twice, 8-0 in the preliminary round and 9-0 in the semifinal en route to the gold-medal game.
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 and select members of the media 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 Coca-Cola, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.
