Standout performances during June earned Breanna Clark (Los Angeles, California), CJ Cummings (Beaufort, South Carolina) and the U.S. Women’s Senior National Synchronized Swimming Team Best of June honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. Clark, Cummings and the U.S. women’s senior national team are among the qualified athletes and teams that are eligible for Best of the Year honors in 2017.
Clark claimed the national title and shaved more than a second off the women’s T20 400-meter world record at the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships. Clark, who was nearly five seconds ahead of her closest competitor in the mixed event, crossed the finish line in 56.71 seconds to qualify for her first world championships.
Cummings won his fourth consecutive IWF World Championship as he defended his junior world crown in the 69 kg. division. Cummings previously won titles at the 2016 Junior World Championships, 2016 Youth World Championships and 2017 Youth World Championships, and will represent Team USA at the Pan American Championships in July.
The U.S. women’s senior national team won its first-ever world series team gold medal at the Synchro American Open in East Meadow, New York. The U.S. scored 166.2664 points in its first competition of the year, narrowly edging Canada in the two-session event. Despite only training together for a couple of months, the 11-member squad, led by 2016 U.S. Olympian Anita Alvarez, managed to claim the historic win on home soil.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.
About the Team USA Awards
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 viaTeamUSA.org/Awards.
Each of the five monthly men’s and women’s finalists, and three team finalists automatically qualify for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Visit TeamUSA.org for a complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held Nov. 29 in Los Angeles.