COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of October, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Friday, Nov. 8.
Eight sports – including boxing, figure skating, gymnastics, Para track and field, shooting, track and field, triathlon and wheelchair rugby – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories. The finalists’ collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round.
Female:
Simone Biles, Artistic Gymnastics
Won five world championship gold medals – the most since 1958 – and became the most decorated gymnast in world championships history with 25 career world medals, while also completing two skills never performed by a female gymnast in competition: a double-double dismount on beam and a triple-double on floor, which will be named in her honor. Click here to vote for Biles.
Tatyana McFadden, Para track and field
Secured her spot in the sixth Paralympic Games of her career after placing second at the Chicago Marathon – the first U.S. female finisher – completing the race in 1:45.22. Click here to vote for McFadden.
Dalilah Muhammad, Track and Field
Won gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the world championships in Doha, Qatar, breaking her own world record with a time of 52.16 seconds, cutting off four hundredths of a second from her world record she set in July. Click here for Muhammad.
Danielle Perkins, Boxing
Won gold unanimously in heavyweight in Ulan Ude, Russia, defeating China’s Yang Xiaoli in her first world championship final, becoming the first U.S. boxer to win a world title in three years. Click here to vote for Perkins.
Aeriel Skinner, Shooting
Won her first world cup gold medal and won the women’s trap event at the world cup shotgun final in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, coming back from the fifth position following the first day of competition at the world cup final. Click here to vote for Skinner.
Male:
Nathan Chen, Figure Skating
Became only the third U.S. man to win three Skate America titles, landing three quad jumps and topping his previous record for largest margin of victory (44 points) to earn his seventh consecutive gold medal dating back to the 2018 world championships. Click here to vote for Chen.
Vincent Hancock, Shooting
Won the silver medal in skeet at the world cup shotgun final in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, winning a 56-target shoot-off to claim the top spot in the final in which he shot 59/60. Click here to vote for Hancock.
Noah Lyles, Track and Field
Captured his first world title in Doha, Qatar, becoming the youngest 200-meter world champion in history at age 22, and helped the U.S. to a historic win in the 4x100-meter. Click here to vote for Lyles.
Matt McElroy, Triathlon
Earned his first two career world cup victories on consecutive weekends, topping the podium in South Korea and Japan to improve to eight career medals on the world cup circuit. Click here to vote for McElroy.
Daniel Romanchuk, Para track and field
Qualified for the second Paralympic Games of his career after defending his Chicago Marathon crown, finishing more than three minutes ahead of the second-place athlete with a time of 1:30.26. Click here to vote for Romanchuk.
Team:
U.S. Women's World Championships Team, Artistic Gymnastics
The team of Biles, Jade Carey (Phoenix, Arizona), Kara Eaker (Grain Valley, Missouri), Sunisa Lee (St. Paul, Minnesota), Grace McCallum (Isanti, Minnesota) and, alternate, MyKayla Skinner (Gilbert, Arizona) won its fifth consecutive team title at the world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, with a margin of victory of nearly six points, securing gold in three of the four events – vault, balance beam and floor exercise. Click here to vote for the U.S. women's world championships team.
U.S. Men's 4x100-meter Team, Track and Field
The team of Christian Coleman (Atlanta, Georgia), Justin Gatlin (Woodham, Florida), Mike Rogers (Florissant, Missouri), and Lyles won gold at the world championships in Doha, Qatar, shattering the American record while winning the event for the first time since 2007, and becoming the second-fasted country of all time. Click here to vote for the U.S. men's 4x100-meter team.
U.S. World Challenge Team, Wheelchair Rugby
Won gold at the world cup challenge – which is held every four years – in Tokyo, defeating Australia, 59-51. Click here to vote for the U.S. wheelchair rugby team.
Selection Process
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists 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.
