COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of January, 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 Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Eleven sport disciplines – including alpine skiing, bobsled, boxing, equestrian, freestyle skiing, golf, Para alpine skiing, Para-equestrian, Para Nordic skiing, sailing and track cycling – 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:
Naomi Graham, Boxing
Garnered her second-straight Strandja Tournament title in 75 kg. in Sofia, Bulgaria, going undefeated in four fights throughout the week and topping Davina Michel of France, 3-2, in the final. Click here to vote for Graham.
Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing
Earned four world cup podium spots in January, taking home gold in super-G and downhill at the world cup in Bansko, Bulgaria, along with bronze in slalom at the world cup in Flachau, Austria, and bronze in giant slalom at the world cup in Sestriere, Italy. Click here to vote for Shiffrin.
Laurie Stephens, Para Alpine Skiing
Won six medals in the sitting class across two world cups, clinching two golds in giant slalom, along with two silvers and one bronze in super-G at the world cup in Veysonnaz, Switzerland and taking home bronze in giant slalom at the world cup in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Click here for Stephens.
Roxanne Trunnell, Para-Equestrian
Swept the three Grade I CPEDI3* classes in dressage at two competitions in January at the global festival in Wellington, Florida, earning personal best scores, breaking into the 80% threshold, and earning the highest score of any U.S. para-dressage rider in history at the CPEDI3* event, while also helping the U.S. Para team claim top honors at the festival. Click here to vote for Trunnell.
Jennifer Valente, Cycling
Clinched gold in omnium at the world cup in Milton, Ontario – which earned her the world cup series overall omnium title – and helped the women’s pursuit team to gold. Click here to vote for Valente.
Male:
Dan Cnossen, Para Nordic Skiing
Earned gold in the biathlon relay and silver in the sitting class of the cross-country short and biathlon sprint event at the world cup in Altenberg and Dresden, Germany, and was crowned the U.S. national champion in the middle-distance cross-country, cross-country sprint and biathlon sprint races in Midway, Utah. Click here to vote for Cnossen.
Pedro Pascual, Sailing
Won gold in RS:X at the first world cup stop of the season in Miami, sailing six days and never falling lower than third place and became the first windsurfer in history to win the 2020 Golden Torch Award, an honor given to the top U.S. athlete at the event. Click here to vote for Pascual.
Steffen Peters, Equestrian
Grabbed four CD13* titles in dressage during the month of January with his top score – a 76.149% – coming with his horse Suppenkasper in the grand prix special at the global festival in Wellington, Florida. Click here to vote for Peters.
Colby Stevenson, Freestyle Skiing
Captured gold in slopestyle at his first Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, and additionally took bronze in slopestyle at the world cup in Seiser Alm, Italy, marking his fourth podium finish on the world cup level. Click here to vote for Stevenson.
Justin Thomas, Golf
Defeated the defending champion to finish first at the PGA Tournament of Champions – an event open only to winners of official PGA TOUR events in 2019 – in Kapalua, Hawaii, becoming only the third player in PGA TOUR history since 1960 to have 12 career wins before the age of 27 and moving to a No. 4 world ranking. Click here to vote for Thomas.
Team:
U.S. Men's Four-Man Team, Bobsled
The team of Hunter Church (Cadyville, New York), Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Florida), Jimmy Reed (Garmisch, Germany) and Kris Horn (Pembroke, Massachusetts) claimed the bronze medal in the four-man at the world cup in Igls, Austria – marking Church’s career-first world cup medal and the first men’s bobsled medal on foreign soil in three years, when Steve Holcomb’s team won bronze on the same course. Click here to vote for four-man bobsled team.
U.S. Para Dressage Team, Para-Equestrian
The U.S. Para dressage team of David Botana (Portland, Maine), Rebecca Hart (Loxahatchee, Florida), Beatrice de Lavalette (Lake Worth Beach, Florida), Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Florida), Marie Vonderheyden (Wellington, Florida) and Trunnell captured first at the global festival on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 in Wellington, Florida. Click here to vote for the U.S. Para Dressage team.
U.S. Women's Pursuit Team, Cycling
The squad of Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Indiana), Lily Williams (Tallahassee, Florida), Emma White (Duanesburg, New York) and Valente won gold in team pursuit at the world cup in Milton, Ontario. Click here to vote for the U.S. women's pursuit 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% of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
