COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Standout performances during April earned weightlifter CJ Cummings (Beaufort, South Carolina), surfer Caroline Marks (Melbourne Beach, Florida) and the U.S. Women’s World Championship Ice Hockey Team Best of April honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Cummings swept gold and set 15 records – three junior world, three junior and three senior Pan American, and three junior and three senior American records – at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Cummings went a perfect six for six in his attempts, snatched a meet-best 153 kg., and had a meet-best clean and jerk of 191 kg. His 344 kg. total was enough to crown him Pan American champion, and he was named Best Male Lifter in the competition.
Caroline Marks won the Pro Gold Coast event in Australia and claimed the No. 1 spot on the world rankings. The youngest surfer in the World Surf League at 17 years old, she used her powerful backhand to collect 13.83 points and outscore three-time world champion Carissa Moore in the final. Named the WSL Rookie of the Year in 2018, Marks now has seven heat wins thus far in her second WSL season, averaging a heat score of 12.41 points.
The U.S. Women’s World Championship Ice Hockey Team went undefeated to claim its fifth consecutive gold medal at the women’s world championship in Espoo, Finland, defeating host Finland in an overtime shootout, 2-1. The U.S. won its seven games throughout the tournament by a combined score of 41-5, and American goaltenders Alex Rigsby and Maddie Rooney combined efforts for the program’s second-longest shutout streak in tournament history, 316 minutes and 35 seconds.
About the Team USA Awards
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.