Jordan Burroughs wins USOC Best of September monthly award for men
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by USOC and USA Wrestling
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Outstanding performances during the month of September earned freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs, triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, and the U.S. men’s national volleyball team Best of September honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) won his third world championship title in the men’s freestyle 74 kg. Division – winning all six matches and surrendering only five points to his 45 scored – at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships, held Sept. 12 in Las Vegas. With the victory, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist became one of only three U.S. wrestlers to win four combined world or Olympic gold medals, joining Bruce Baumgartner (5) and John Smith (6). The win improved his career record to 114-2 and put him behind John Smith (4), and tied with Baumgartner and Lee Kemp for the most world titles in U.S. history.
Burroughs won six matches on the way to the title. He opened with a 5-2 win over Krystian Brzozowski of Poland, then scored a pair of technical falls over Oleg Zakharevych of Ukraine, 10-0 and Mihaly Nagy of Hungary, 11-0. In the quarterfinals, Burroughs shut out Alireza Ghasemi of Iran, 5-0. He stopped 2015 European Games champion Aniuar Geduev of Russia, 4-3 in the semifinals. He finished strong, with a 10-0 technical fall over Unurbat Purevjav of Mongolia, 10-0. The victory secured a position for the USA at this weight class at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) claimed her second straight world championship title by securing the No. 1 ranking (5,200 points) with a convincing victory at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, held Sept. 18 in Chicago. The victory completed an undefeated season and extended her winning streak to an unprecedented 12 consecutive wins on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit, dating back to May 2014. Outdistancing the field by more than 29 seconds, she completed the course in 1:55:36 to top the podium and the season rankings by 1,119 points. Jorgensen becomes the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back triathlon world championship titles and only the second American woman to win two career titles.
2015 World Champion Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), a three-time World champion and five-time World medalist, was one of the finalists in the category for women.
The U.S. Men’s National Indoor Volleyball Team won the FIVB World Cup for the first time in 30 years on Sept. 23 in Japan, earning a berth to the 2016 Olympic Games. The U.S. men played 11 matches in 16 days, completing the tournament with a 10-1 record. The team was led by Matt Anderson, who was named tournament MVP after leading all world cup players in serving, and leading the U.S. in scoring and kills.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.
Since the USOC changed its Athlete of the Month program to the new format, Burroughs became the first wrestler to win this prestigious honor.
Graphic of Jordan Burroughs at the 2015 World Championships courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) won his third world championship title in the men’s freestyle 74 kg. Division – winning all six matches and surrendering only five points to his 45 scored – at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships, held Sept. 12 in Las Vegas. With the victory, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist became one of only three U.S. wrestlers to win four combined world or Olympic gold medals, joining Bruce Baumgartner (5) and John Smith (6). The win improved his career record to 114-2 and put him behind John Smith (4), and tied with Baumgartner and Lee Kemp for the most world titles in U.S. history.
Burroughs won six matches on the way to the title. He opened with a 5-2 win over Krystian Brzozowski of Poland, then scored a pair of technical falls over Oleg Zakharevych of Ukraine, 10-0 and Mihaly Nagy of Hungary, 11-0. In the quarterfinals, Burroughs shut out Alireza Ghasemi of Iran, 5-0. He stopped 2015 European Games champion Aniuar Geduev of Russia, 4-3 in the semifinals. He finished strong, with a 10-0 technical fall over Unurbat Purevjav of Mongolia, 10-0. The victory secured a position for the USA at this weight class at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) claimed her second straight world championship title by securing the No. 1 ranking (5,200 points) with a convincing victory at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, held Sept. 18 in Chicago. The victory completed an undefeated season and extended her winning streak to an unprecedented 12 consecutive wins on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit, dating back to May 2014. Outdistancing the field by more than 29 seconds, she completed the course in 1:55:36 to top the podium and the season rankings by 1,119 points. Jorgensen becomes the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back triathlon world championship titles and only the second American woman to win two career titles.
2015 World Champion Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), a three-time World champion and five-time World medalist, was one of the finalists in the category for women.
The U.S. Men’s National Indoor Volleyball Team won the FIVB World Cup for the first time in 30 years on Sept. 23 in Japan, earning a berth to the 2016 Olympic Games. The U.S. men played 11 matches in 16 days, completing the tournament with a 10-1 record. The team was led by Matt Anderson, who was named tournament MVP after leading all world cup players in serving, and leading the U.S. in scoring and kills.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.
Since the USOC changed its Athlete of the Month program to the new format, Burroughs became the first wrestler to win this prestigious honor.
Graphic of Jordan Burroughs at the 2015 World Championships courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
