World champion Clarissa Chun finishes second in USOC Athlete of the Month voting
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by United States
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Clarissa Chun, who became just the fifth U.S. women's freestyle wrestler to capture a World championship, finished second in the U.S. Olympic Committee's voting for female Athlete of the Month.
The USOC announced ski jumper Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) and BMX biker Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) as its October Athletes of the Month, while the U.S. Men's Speedskating Short Track Relay Team received Team of the Month honors.
Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won a gold medal in the 48 kg/105.5 lbs. division at the Women's World Championships on Oct. 12 in Tokyo, Japan.
Chun, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, came back strong after placing fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Chun went 4-0 at the 2008 World Championships. She swept Kazakhstan's Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva 1-0, 1-0 in the finals. She downed two-time World bronze medalist Makiko Sakamoto of Japan in the semifinals.
Always at the top of the list of dominant female ski jumpers, Van lived up to her reputation on Oct. 11 as she took home her 13th career U.S. title at the U.S. Ski Jumping Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Not ready to be done during the Nordic weekend, Van also earned a SuperTour win on Oct. 12.
Robinson won the overall 2008 UCI Supercross BMX World Cup title in October. After finishing second in the final round of the World Cup in France on Oct.11, Robinson secured the top spot in the final World Cup standings. The Olympic bronze medalist won the overall World Cup title ahead of Americans David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), Kyle Bennett (Conroe, Texas), Olympic silver-medalist Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and the only non-American in the top five, Olympic gold-medalist Maris Strombergs of Latvia.
The U.S. Men's Short Track Speedskating 5000m Relay Team pulled off a spectacular victory over the Canadian men's team on the Canadians' home ice at the World Cup II in Vancouver, Canada, Oct. 24-26. The breathtaking final had each team fighting at various points during this 45-lap race for the lead. In the end, U.S. athlete Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) skated the final laps against Canadian superstar Charles Hamlin to win the photo finish, earning the men's team a gold medal.
Finishing third in the women's voting was BMX biker Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, Utah), who won the overall 2008 UCI Supercross BMX World Cup title in October. Martin also finished second in the final round of the World Cup in France on Oct. 11, securing the top spot in the final World Cup standings. With her second-place finish, Martin was able to keep both the men's and women's World Cup titles with U.S. riders, outscoring all three Olympic medalists on the season-long circuit.
Second place in the men's voting went to veteran skier Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). A nine-year member of the U.S. Ski Team's Nordic Combined Squad, Spillane has had many career accolades, including a World Championship gold medal in cross country sprint, but on Oct. 11 he added the honor of U.S. Champion to his resume as he beat out a tough field to win the title during the 2008 U.S. Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
For his successful October, Eli Bremer (Monument, Colo./Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force) was awarded third-place in the voting. Bremer recorded the best finish to date in his modern pentathlon career on Oct. 5 at the 2008 Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final in Caldas de Rainha, Portugal, winning the bronze medal with 5,604 total points. Bremer had one of his better days in shooting to get his day off to a strong start with a score of 180 for 1,096 points. He was the second best fencer with 21 victories and only 10 defeats for 972 points. His swim time of 2:01.16 earned him 1,348 points. His ride garnered him 1,064 points. In his best event, the run, Bremer finished in a time of 9:29.56 for 1,124 points to end with 5,604 points, just eight points shy of the silver medal.
Team USA Women's Bowling was awarded second place in the team voting after a near flawless performance in Pan American competition. The team had a dominating week against the best bowlers in the American zone at the 2008 Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships in Santiago, Chile, from Oct. 19-24. Out of a possible 16 medals available to them, Team USA brought home 14, including every gold and silver possible.
Third place in the team voting went to the Team USA Compound Junior Women's Archery Team, who won the team gold medal at the 2008 Youth World Championships in Antalya, Turkey, Oct. 7-12. The Compound Junior Women's Team was made up of Seneca Francis (Smithfield, Utah), Kendal Nicely (Gorham, Maine), and Samantha Pruitte (Harlem, Ga.). Nicely and Pruitte also captured the gold and silver medals respectively in the individual competition of the Compound Junior Women's category.
Athlete of the Month Results:
Men
1. Donny Robinson, Cycling - BMX
2. Johnny Spillane, Skiing
3. Eli Bremer, Pentathlon
Women
1. Lindsey Van, Skiing
2. Clarissa Chun, Wrestling
3. Arielle Martin, Cycling - BMX
Team
1. U.S. Men's Speedskating Short Track Relay Team
2. U.S. Women's Bowling Team
3. U.S. Compound Junior Women's Archery Team
The USOC announced ski jumper Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) and BMX biker Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) as its October Athletes of the Month, while the U.S. Men's Speedskating Short Track Relay Team received Team of the Month honors.
Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won a gold medal in the 48 kg/105.5 lbs. division at the Women's World Championships on Oct. 12 in Tokyo, Japan.
Chun, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, came back strong after placing fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Chun went 4-0 at the 2008 World Championships. She swept Kazakhstan's Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva 1-0, 1-0 in the finals. She downed two-time World bronze medalist Makiko Sakamoto of Japan in the semifinals.
Always at the top of the list of dominant female ski jumpers, Van lived up to her reputation on Oct. 11 as she took home her 13th career U.S. title at the U.S. Ski Jumping Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Not ready to be done during the Nordic weekend, Van also earned a SuperTour win on Oct. 12.
Robinson won the overall 2008 UCI Supercross BMX World Cup title in October. After finishing second in the final round of the World Cup in France on Oct.11, Robinson secured the top spot in the final World Cup standings. The Olympic bronze medalist won the overall World Cup title ahead of Americans David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), Kyle Bennett (Conroe, Texas), Olympic silver-medalist Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and the only non-American in the top five, Olympic gold-medalist Maris Strombergs of Latvia.
The U.S. Men's Short Track Speedskating 5000m Relay Team pulled off a spectacular victory over the Canadian men's team on the Canadians' home ice at the World Cup II in Vancouver, Canada, Oct. 24-26. The breathtaking final had each team fighting at various points during this 45-lap race for the lead. In the end, U.S. athlete Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) skated the final laps against Canadian superstar Charles Hamlin to win the photo finish, earning the men's team a gold medal.
Finishing third in the women's voting was BMX biker Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, Utah), who won the overall 2008 UCI Supercross BMX World Cup title in October. Martin also finished second in the final round of the World Cup in France on Oct. 11, securing the top spot in the final World Cup standings. With her second-place finish, Martin was able to keep both the men's and women's World Cup titles with U.S. riders, outscoring all three Olympic medalists on the season-long circuit.
Second place in the men's voting went to veteran skier Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). A nine-year member of the U.S. Ski Team's Nordic Combined Squad, Spillane has had many career accolades, including a World Championship gold medal in cross country sprint, but on Oct. 11 he added the honor of U.S. Champion to his resume as he beat out a tough field to win the title during the 2008 U.S. Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
For his successful October, Eli Bremer (Monument, Colo./Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force) was awarded third-place in the voting. Bremer recorded the best finish to date in his modern pentathlon career on Oct. 5 at the 2008 Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final in Caldas de Rainha, Portugal, winning the bronze medal with 5,604 total points. Bremer had one of his better days in shooting to get his day off to a strong start with a score of 180 for 1,096 points. He was the second best fencer with 21 victories and only 10 defeats for 972 points. His swim time of 2:01.16 earned him 1,348 points. His ride garnered him 1,064 points. In his best event, the run, Bremer finished in a time of 9:29.56 for 1,124 points to end with 5,604 points, just eight points shy of the silver medal.
Team USA Women's Bowling was awarded second place in the team voting after a near flawless performance in Pan American competition. The team had a dominating week against the best bowlers in the American zone at the 2008 Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships in Santiago, Chile, from Oct. 19-24. Out of a possible 16 medals available to them, Team USA brought home 14, including every gold and silver possible.
Third place in the team voting went to the Team USA Compound Junior Women's Archery Team, who won the team gold medal at the 2008 Youth World Championships in Antalya, Turkey, Oct. 7-12. The Compound Junior Women's Team was made up of Seneca Francis (Smithfield, Utah), Kendal Nicely (Gorham, Maine), and Samantha Pruitte (Harlem, Ga.). Nicely and Pruitte also captured the gold and silver medals respectively in the individual competition of the Compound Junior Women's category.
Athlete of the Month Results:
Men
1. Donny Robinson, Cycling - BMX
2. Johnny Spillane, Skiing
3. Eli Bremer, Pentathlon
Women
1. Lindsey Van, Skiing
2. Clarissa Chun, Wrestling
3. Arielle Martin, Cycling - BMX
Team
1. U.S. Men's Speedskating Short Track Relay Team
2. U.S. Women's Bowling Team
3. U.S. Compound Junior Women's Archery Team
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