The Amateur Athletic Union has chosen 2016 Olympian and silver medalist Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) as a 2016 AAU James E. Sullivan Award semi-finalist. Johnson won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games while competing alongside David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) in the men's 10-meter synchronized event. The medal sealed an outstanding Olympic debut for Johnson, who also finished 13th in the men's 10m individual event. At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Johnson took second in individual platform and first with Boudia in synchro. Since Rio, Johnson has won the Big 10 championship on platform as well as the 2016 USA Diving Winter National Championships title on 3m.
To vote for Steele, click here. You may vote once every 24 hours and voting runs through March 13.
The AAU Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Representatives from the AAU created the Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize contributions and achievements across the country of amateur athletes. World renowned golfer Bobby Jones, co-founder of The Masters, received the inaugural award in 1930 and swimmer Anne Curtis became the first female to accept the award in 1944. Other notable athletes to win include famed Olympians Mark Spitz (1971), Carl Lewis (1981), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1986) and Michael Phelps (2003). Former UCLA basketball star Bill Walton (1973), University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning (1997), Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott (2015) and UConn Forward, Breanna Stewart (2016) have also earned the prestigious honor.
The complete list of semi-finalists for the 2016 AAU James E. Sullivan Award is as follows: Aly Raisman, Ashleigh Johnson, Brianna Turner, Deshaun Watson, Ginny Thrasher, Helen Maroulis, Jackie Galloway, Kayla Harrison, Kyle Lewis, Kyle Snyder, Lauren Carlini, Laurie Hernandez, Lonzo Ball, Malik Monk, Matt Centrowitz Jr, Maverick McNealy, Steele Johnson and Vashti Cunningham.
After the first round of voting, six finalists will be announced and proceed to a second round of voting.The six finalists will attend the award ceremony in New York City where the award recipient will be named on April 11.
