Abbott Blog: It’s time for another wrestler to get the Sullivan Award! Please vote for Maroulis and Snyder all week
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
The wrestling community has a lot to be proud about from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wrestling Team USA had a pair of historic performances.
At age 20, Kyle Snyder became the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestling champion by winning the 97 kg freestyle gold. In addition, Helen Maroulis became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she beat three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida of Japan to claim the 53 kg women’s freestyle title.
Both of these athletes deserve big-time recognition for their amazing achievements. One of the best ways to honor them is to help them to receive major awards in the world of sports.
One of the most prestigious awards in sports is the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which recognizes the top amateur athlete in the United States. The first award was given in 1930, to golf legend Bobby Jones. Since then, many of the greatest heroes of American sport have received this honor. You can only win the Sullivan Award one time, by the way.
Our two Olympic wrestling champions, Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder, have been named as semifinalists for the 2016 James E. Sullivan Award. Wrestling fans have a great opportunity to help support them by getting online and voting for a wrestler.
We are asking wrestling people to vote today and vote often. You can vote for one athlete each day, all the way through Monday, March 13. If we all get active with this, we have a chance to get both wrestlers into the select group of six finalists.
VOTE FOR SNYDER OR MAROULIS FOR SULLIVAN AWARD
Please remember: You can vote once every 24 hours.
I have seen wrestling people get very competitive with on-line contests and surveys. There have many times when we have stepped up big and blown away the field on one of these things. For example, in 2013, when an Olympic publication asked which sport should be added to the 2020 Olympics, wrestling people got fired up, voted and voted and voted, and we finished way ahead of all the other sports.
It’s time to stand up for wrestling again. It is about time one of our wrestling heroes gets the Sullivan Award.
Here is my case. There have only been three wrestlers who have won the Sullivan Award, all who have been Olympic champions: John Smith (1990), Bruce Baumgartner (1995) and Rulon Gardner (2000). That is only three wrestlers in the 86 years that the award was given.
It was a huge deal when we were able to get John Smith as our first winner, which was the 61st year of the award. In fairly short order, we added two-time Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner five years later and the unexpected hero Rulon Gardner five years after that. Since then, we have not been able to add a fourth wrestler, even though we continue to work hard on this.
It has been 16 years since Gardner won the Sullivan Award after beating three-time Olympic champion and previously unbeaten superstar Alexander Kareline of Russia in the gold-medal finals of the Sydney Olympic Games. Rulon’s win was considered the greatest upset in Olympic sports history, and probably still can claim that designation. He had the chance to carry the U.S. flag in the closing ceremony, was featured on the Tonight Show, won the USOC SportsMan of the Year award and became a national celebrity. Rulon deserved this.
Every year since Rulon won, we have put up our best wrestler(s) of that year. And for the last 15 times, the Sullivan Award has been given it to somebody else.
Since we won last, we have had four Olympic champions and a three-time women’s World champion who were outstanding nominees but did not receive the Sullivan Award.
Jordan Burroughs – Jordan Burroughs had one of the greatest championship runs in American wrestling history. After winning two NCAA titles for Nebraska and the Dan Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in the nation, he won the 2011 World gold medal on his first try. Then he won a gold medal in spectacular form at the 2012 Olympics. Add to that his second World gold medal in 2013, competing one month after breaking his ankle. In 2014, he suffered a leg injury in his first match at the Worlds, dropped a tough semifinal match, and came back for the bronze. Come back to 2015, and Burroughs won his third World gold medal on his home mats in Las Vegas and was elected USOC SportsMan of the Year. Gold, Gold, Gold, Bronze, Gold. Legendary.
Adeline Gray – All Adeline did was win three World gold medals, and a World medal in five straight years. She won two of those World gold medals in a row in 2014 and 2015, one of the most explosive women athletes on the planet. Here is how it went for Adeline. 2011 World bronze, 2012 World gold, 2013 World bronze, 2014 World gold, 2015 World gold. Along the way, she became a major role model for young women, not only in wrestling but within the sports community and her home state of Colorado.
Cael Sanderson – His college achievement by itself made him a top Sullivan Award contender, becoming the first and only college wrestler to win four NCAA titles without a loss at Iowa State. This put him on a Wheaties box, was considered one of the greatest college sports achievements ever by Sports Illustrated, and made him a legend in wrestling. Then, he goes into international wrestling, adding a World silver medal in 2003 and then a dominant performance on the way to an Olympic gold medal in 2004. (and to boot, he has become one of the most successful college wrestling coaches in history since then).
Henry Cejudo – Henry was the definition of young phenom. He moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center as a high school junior and won a U.S. Senior Nationals title while still attending high school. He made his first Senior World freestyle team at the age of 20. After Cejudo made the 2008 Olympic team, he saved his best performance for the Beijing Games, where he exploded onto the international scene, putting up points and winning exciting matches. His Olympic gold medal in Beijing came at the age of 21, making him the youngest Olympic champion up to that point.
Jake Varner – A two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State, Varner got his international career rolling with a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships. After making the 2012 Olympic team, Varner was overlooked by many, but was consistent and confident on the way to his Olympic gold medal at the London Olympic Games. Not one to bring attention on himself, with Jake, his performance spoke the loudest.
We had some other fantastic athletes who had memorable performances during that 15 year period, including two-time World champion Kristie Davis and World champions Iris Smith, Dremiel Byers, Bill Zadick, Clarissa Chun, Joe Warren and Elena Pirozhkova, On the college level, we had four-time NCAA champions Kyle Dake and Logan Stieber during this time frame also.
For the Sullivan Award, athletes are also evaluated for their strong character, leadership and sportsmanship. Our wrestlers do very well based upon those measurements also.
Here are the list of Sullivan Award winners since Rulon Gardner was honored. Michelle Kwan of Figure skating (2001), Sarah Hughes of Figure skating (2002), Michael Phelps of Swimming (2003), Paul Hamm of Gymnastics (2004), J.J. Redick of Basketball (2005), Jessica Long of Swimming (2006), Tim Tebow of Football (2007), Shawn Johnson of Gymnastics (2008), Amy Palmiero-Winters of Ultra Marathon (2009), Evan Lysacek of Figure Skating (2010), Andrew Rodriguez of Football (2011), Missy Franklin of Swimming (2012), John Urschel of Football (2013), Ezekiel Elliott of Football (2014), Keenan Reynolds of Football and Breanna Stewart of Basketball (2015).
Congratulations to all of these winners, each who have made their mark on the amateur sports scene. All are deserving, But for sure, our wrestlers have been equally outstanding and impressive.
Snyder and Maroulis are very deserving this year. Snyder was the youngest U.S. World wrestling champion at age 19, the youngest American Olympic wrestling champion at age 20, and won the most famous NCAA heavyweight bout in history with his win in Madison Square Garden over Nick Gwiazdowski in 2016. Maroulis boasts an Olympic gold medal (our historic first for a woman), a World title, a World silver medal and a World bronze medal. And she beat the greatest wrestler in world history, with 16 World and Olympic titles, to become our first women’s champions
Fans can participate in this process by voting, and being active in social media. We need to get our wrestlers into the finals, then once again come out in big numbers by voting again online for Helen and Kyle. If you agree with me, please make the time once a day, go online for a few seconds, and vote for our wrestlers. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could add either Helen or Kyle to the great list of champions alongside John, Bruce and Rulon?
VOTE FOR SNYDER OR MAROULIS FOR SULLIVAN AWARD
At age 20, Kyle Snyder became the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestling champion by winning the 97 kg freestyle gold. In addition, Helen Maroulis became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she beat three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida of Japan to claim the 53 kg women’s freestyle title.
Both of these athletes deserve big-time recognition for their amazing achievements. One of the best ways to honor them is to help them to receive major awards in the world of sports.
One of the most prestigious awards in sports is the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which recognizes the top amateur athlete in the United States. The first award was given in 1930, to golf legend Bobby Jones. Since then, many of the greatest heroes of American sport have received this honor. You can only win the Sullivan Award one time, by the way.
Our two Olympic wrestling champions, Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder, have been named as semifinalists for the 2016 James E. Sullivan Award. Wrestling fans have a great opportunity to help support them by getting online and voting for a wrestler.
We are asking wrestling people to vote today and vote often. You can vote for one athlete each day, all the way through Monday, March 13. If we all get active with this, we have a chance to get both wrestlers into the select group of six finalists.
VOTE FOR SNYDER OR MAROULIS FOR SULLIVAN AWARD
Please remember: You can vote once every 24 hours.
I have seen wrestling people get very competitive with on-line contests and surveys. There have many times when we have stepped up big and blown away the field on one of these things. For example, in 2013, when an Olympic publication asked which sport should be added to the 2020 Olympics, wrestling people got fired up, voted and voted and voted, and we finished way ahead of all the other sports.
It’s time to stand up for wrestling again. It is about time one of our wrestling heroes gets the Sullivan Award.
Here is my case. There have only been three wrestlers who have won the Sullivan Award, all who have been Olympic champions: John Smith (1990), Bruce Baumgartner (1995) and Rulon Gardner (2000). That is only three wrestlers in the 86 years that the award was given.
It was a huge deal when we were able to get John Smith as our first winner, which was the 61st year of the award. In fairly short order, we added two-time Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner five years later and the unexpected hero Rulon Gardner five years after that. Since then, we have not been able to add a fourth wrestler, even though we continue to work hard on this.
It has been 16 years since Gardner won the Sullivan Award after beating three-time Olympic champion and previously unbeaten superstar Alexander Kareline of Russia in the gold-medal finals of the Sydney Olympic Games. Rulon’s win was considered the greatest upset in Olympic sports history, and probably still can claim that designation. He had the chance to carry the U.S. flag in the closing ceremony, was featured on the Tonight Show, won the USOC SportsMan of the Year award and became a national celebrity. Rulon deserved this.
Every year since Rulon won, we have put up our best wrestler(s) of that year. And for the last 15 times, the Sullivan Award has been given it to somebody else.
Since we won last, we have had four Olympic champions and a three-time women’s World champion who were outstanding nominees but did not receive the Sullivan Award.
Jordan Burroughs – Jordan Burroughs had one of the greatest championship runs in American wrestling history. After winning two NCAA titles for Nebraska and the Dan Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in the nation, he won the 2011 World gold medal on his first try. Then he won a gold medal in spectacular form at the 2012 Olympics. Add to that his second World gold medal in 2013, competing one month after breaking his ankle. In 2014, he suffered a leg injury in his first match at the Worlds, dropped a tough semifinal match, and came back for the bronze. Come back to 2015, and Burroughs won his third World gold medal on his home mats in Las Vegas and was elected USOC SportsMan of the Year. Gold, Gold, Gold, Bronze, Gold. Legendary.
Adeline Gray – All Adeline did was win three World gold medals, and a World medal in five straight years. She won two of those World gold medals in a row in 2014 and 2015, one of the most explosive women athletes on the planet. Here is how it went for Adeline. 2011 World bronze, 2012 World gold, 2013 World bronze, 2014 World gold, 2015 World gold. Along the way, she became a major role model for young women, not only in wrestling but within the sports community and her home state of Colorado.
Cael Sanderson – His college achievement by itself made him a top Sullivan Award contender, becoming the first and only college wrestler to win four NCAA titles without a loss at Iowa State. This put him on a Wheaties box, was considered one of the greatest college sports achievements ever by Sports Illustrated, and made him a legend in wrestling. Then, he goes into international wrestling, adding a World silver medal in 2003 and then a dominant performance on the way to an Olympic gold medal in 2004. (and to boot, he has become one of the most successful college wrestling coaches in history since then).
Henry Cejudo – Henry was the definition of young phenom. He moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center as a high school junior and won a U.S. Senior Nationals title while still attending high school. He made his first Senior World freestyle team at the age of 20. After Cejudo made the 2008 Olympic team, he saved his best performance for the Beijing Games, where he exploded onto the international scene, putting up points and winning exciting matches. His Olympic gold medal in Beijing came at the age of 21, making him the youngest Olympic champion up to that point.
Jake Varner – A two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State, Varner got his international career rolling with a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships. After making the 2012 Olympic team, Varner was overlooked by many, but was consistent and confident on the way to his Olympic gold medal at the London Olympic Games. Not one to bring attention on himself, with Jake, his performance spoke the loudest.
We had some other fantastic athletes who had memorable performances during that 15 year period, including two-time World champion Kristie Davis and World champions Iris Smith, Dremiel Byers, Bill Zadick, Clarissa Chun, Joe Warren and Elena Pirozhkova, On the college level, we had four-time NCAA champions Kyle Dake and Logan Stieber during this time frame also.
For the Sullivan Award, athletes are also evaluated for their strong character, leadership and sportsmanship. Our wrestlers do very well based upon those measurements also.
Here are the list of Sullivan Award winners since Rulon Gardner was honored. Michelle Kwan of Figure skating (2001), Sarah Hughes of Figure skating (2002), Michael Phelps of Swimming (2003), Paul Hamm of Gymnastics (2004), J.J. Redick of Basketball (2005), Jessica Long of Swimming (2006), Tim Tebow of Football (2007), Shawn Johnson of Gymnastics (2008), Amy Palmiero-Winters of Ultra Marathon (2009), Evan Lysacek of Figure Skating (2010), Andrew Rodriguez of Football (2011), Missy Franklin of Swimming (2012), John Urschel of Football (2013), Ezekiel Elliott of Football (2014), Keenan Reynolds of Football and Breanna Stewart of Basketball (2015).
Congratulations to all of these winners, each who have made their mark on the amateur sports scene. All are deserving, But for sure, our wrestlers have been equally outstanding and impressive.
Snyder and Maroulis are very deserving this year. Snyder was the youngest U.S. World wrestling champion at age 19, the youngest American Olympic wrestling champion at age 20, and won the most famous NCAA heavyweight bout in history with his win in Madison Square Garden over Nick Gwiazdowski in 2016. Maroulis boasts an Olympic gold medal (our historic first for a woman), a World title, a World silver medal and a World bronze medal. And she beat the greatest wrestler in world history, with 16 World and Olympic titles, to become our first women’s champions
Fans can participate in this process by voting, and being active in social media. We need to get our wrestlers into the finals, then once again come out in big numbers by voting again online for Helen and Kyle. If you agree with me, please make the time once a day, go online for a few seconds, and vote for our wrestlers. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could add either Helen or Kyle to the great list of champions alongside John, Bruce and Rulon?
VOTE FOR SNYDER OR MAROULIS FOR SULLIVAN AWARD
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