The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) announced BMX rider Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz./GT Bicycles) placed third in its April Athletes of the Month, while triathlete Hunter Kemper and Hilary Knight won the men’s and women’s awards, respectively and figure skating duo, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, was awarded Team of the Month honors. Knight, Davis and White all claimed gold for Team USA at world championship events in April. Sharrah finished third in the voting by capturing both a World Cup victory and a national title in April. He started the month by winning the first UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa April 8-9. At only 18-years old, he turned 19 on April 20, Sharrah qualified fifth in the time trial superfinal, moved through the early rounds and won his semifinal before powering his way to the top step of the podium. The following week, Sharrah won the USA Cycling BMX National Championship for men's elite riders on the campus of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Each National Governing Body (NGB) may nominate up to but
no more than one female, one male and one team per discipline. The winners are then chosen by a voting panel from that pool of nominees. Online fan voting, via the Twitter poll, accounts for 10 percent of the total vote.
MALE 1. Hunter Kemper, Triathlon 2. Ryan Hall, Track & Field 3. Corben Sharrah, Cycling
FEMALE 1. Hilary Knight, Ice Hockey 2. Desiree Davila, Track & Field 3. Nzingha Prescod, Fencing
TEAM 1. Merly Davis and Charlie White, Figure Skating 2. U.S. Women's National Hockey Team, Ice Hockey 3. Nick Taylor and David Wagner, Wheelchair Tennis