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PRESS
RELEASE
 FEDERER
TOP ATHLETE; ARMSTRONG, PATRICK TOP USSA ONLINE VOTING
(DAPHNE,
Alabama, December 26, 2005) Tennis
champion Roger Federer of Switzerland was the top overall vote getter
and was named the 2005 Outstanding Athlete of the Year by the United
States Sports Academy after a world-wide internet election hosted
by USATODAY.com.
Lance Armstrong was named Male Athlete of the Year for the second
straight year, while race car driver Danica Patrick was named Female
Athlete of the Year. Female voters outnumbered male voters by a 2-to-1
ratio during the first week of voting in an election that ran from
Dec. 1-24. This gave Patrick a lead she would not relinquish. Overall,
the ballot received tens of thousands of votes from sports fans around
the globe.
The Athlete of the Year is the culmination of the Sports Academy’s
yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments
of men and women in any sport around the globe on a monthly basis.
USSA holds online voting for the Athlete of the Month in which an
international voting committee comprised of former athletes, media,
sports organizations and governing bodies.
To view results from the Athlete of the Year, please visit http://www.usatoday.com/sports/front.htm
or http://www.ussa.edu.
Tennis star Kim Clijsters finished second in the women’s balloting,
followed by the 2003 Female Athlete of the Year, LPGA golfer Annika
Sorenstam. PGA golfer Tiger Woods finished second for Male Athlete
of the Year, followed by San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan.
Federer was the first man in the Open Era to win the U.S. Open and
Wimbledon in back-to-back years, with the Open being his 10th tournament
title of the 2005 season.
Aside from Federer, Armstrong dominated the rest of the field among
male athletes, in the same manner he dominated the Tour de France
for the entire 21st century to this point. Armstrong earned Male Athlete
of the Year honors after winning his seventh straight Tour de France
– by far an unprecedented feat in his sports most prestigious
race – eight years after recovering from a near-fatal battle
with cancer. He retired after the victory.
Top female athlete Patrick, the IndyCar Rookie of the Year, was the
highest starting and finishing woman in the 89-year history of the
Indianapolis 500. She placed fourth in both the race and the time
trials.
Male runner-up Woods became the PGA’s career money leader after
winning his fourth Master’s and second British Open while placing
in the top five in all four of the majors. Duncan was the first player
since Michael Jordan to be named Most Valuable Player in each of his
first three appearances in the NBA finals and the first ever to be
name to the All-NBA Team and All-Defensive Team in each of his first
eight seasons.
Female runner-up Clijsters of Belgium won her first career Grand Slam
title at the U.S. Open in September and recorded eight first-place
finishes in 2005 and a career total of 30. Sorenstam of Sweden, the
LPGA’s leading money winner for 2005, won three tournaments
in March before winning six more in the next seven months.
The 2005 male ballot included Armstrong, Tom Brady, Reggie Bush, Tim
Duncan, Jermaine Dye, Federer, Matt Leinart, Peyton Manning, Bode
Miller, Asafa Powell, Aaron Peirsol, Tony Stewart and Tiger Woods.
The female ballot included Clijsters, Natalie Coughlin, Tirunesh Dibaba,
Yolanda Griffith, Gao Jun, Deena Kastor, Nastia Liukin, Patrick, Paula
Radcliffe, Irina Slutskaya, Sorenstam, Venus Williams and Yelena Isinbayeva.
Since 1984, the American Sport Art Museum and Archives, a division
of the Sports Academy, has recognized outstanding athletes and artists
in all sports through its Awards of Sport program. USSA presents awards
each year to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions
in sports through their athletic, coaching, administrative or artistic
achievements.
Last year, as the leading overall vote getter in the male and female
categories, swimming sensation Michael Phelps won the 2004 Outstanding
Athlete of the Year. Fellow Olympian Carly Patterson received the
most votes in the women's category to take home 2004 Female Athlete
of the Year honors, while Armstrong won the men's category and 2004
Male Athlete of the Year.
USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information Web site that
is updated 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Each month, millions
of unique monthly visitors access USATODAY.com News, Money, Sports,
Life, Technology, Weather and Travel sections which combine the best
of USA TODAY news and information and the latest breaking news with
cutting-edge interactive features, information graphics and multimedia
functions including audio, video and live Webcasts. USATODAY.com is
owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI). For more information, please
visit www.usatoday.com.
The United States Sports Academy, “America’s Sports University,”
is an independent, nonprofit institution that offers sport-specific
programs to students, teachers, and administrators around the world.
The Academy has a special mission to serve the sports industry as
a resource in instruction, research, and other vital sports-related
services. It is the only freestanding institution of higher learning
in the United States offering bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees
in Sport Science and Sport Management, in addition to its extensive
certification programs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT: Rick Sincere
Scribe Strategies & Advisors
Phone: 202-393-4884
Fax: 202-318-0555
Email: editor@scribeus.com
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