The James E. Sullivan trophy, known as the Oscar of sports awards, is presented annually in April by the United States Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete from any sport in the United States.
The only gymnasts to win it in the past were Kurt Thomas (1979) and Paul Hamm (2004).
2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, 2008 Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, and 2008 Olympic horizontal bar silver-medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston are three of 12 amateur athletes chosen as semifinalists for the 79th Annual AAU James E. Sullivan Award. …
“We are excited that Nastia, Shawn and Jonathan were chosen as three of the semifinalists for the Sullivan Award,†said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “This is a well-deserved recognition for their achievements, especially their performances at the 2008 Olympic Games, and it also reflects their hard work, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport. We encourage gymnastics fans across the country to vote for Nastia, Shawn and Jonathan.â€
In addition to Liukin, Johnson and Horton, the other nine semifinalists are: U.S. Olympic men’s 4x100m free relay team, swimming; Cynthia Barboza of Stanford University, volleyball; Amanda Blumenherst of Duke University, golf; Sam Bradford of the University of Oklahoma, football; Tyler Hansbrough of the University of North Carolina, basketball; the Lopez Family of Sugar Land, Texas, taekwondo; Erin Popovich of Silverbow, Mont., Paralympic swimming; Gerald “Buster†Posey of Florida State University, baseball; and Dara Torres of Parkland, Fla., swimming.
read more – USAG
Nastia should win, I think.
Three gymnasts out of twelve is fantastic for the sport in the USA. Wow.
(But, personally, I might be convinced to vote for Dara Torres.)
We will soon be able to vote on the winner on the USA Today website, though I didn’t find the link as yet. The winner will be announced on April 15 at the New York Athletic Club.
12 comments ↓
Shawn is better than Nastia. Paul is better than Jon.
Shawn and/or Jon should win
OK.
I hope Nastia wins. Paul is irrelevant in this case, as he is not a nominee.
Regardless, I think Shawn and Nastia have nearly opposite strengths and weakness, so they’re very close in greatness.
As for Jon and Paul, Jon has crazier skills while Paul has great execution.
Interesting, I guess that’s a similar difference between Shawn and Nastia as well. Nastia is more similar to Paul (of Paul and Jon) and Shawn is more similar to Jon (of Paul and Jon).
I think Nastia should win (between the gymnasts as I have never heard of the other athletes) because she has the artistry AND the skill. Johnson only has the skills.
Nastia had to overcome more adversity and show more perseverance to get where she is than Shawn did (and probably Horton, for that matter)… and she has artistry AND skill.
I do love the gymnasts but Dara Torres is right up there with Chuso in my book
Nastia is a cowboyed twisted leg frog with no double back.
If Nastia wins, APO may just have a heart attack and have to take a break from posting so much crap.
I think I want Nastia to win.
Nastia deserves to win. She worked harder than anybody to get to the Olympics and she should get recognized for that. Shawn only has skills, and as like others said, Nastia has artistry and skill, she should win.
How are either Nastia or Shawn eligible since this is an “amateur” award? Heck, even Jonathan is pro now, after the tour. Maybe he wasn’t at the Games, though. Don’t know. But Nastia and Shawn already had big money endorsements long before Beijing. C’mon that is NOT amateur.
The definition of “amateur” has been very, very muddy for some time.
Leave a Comment