NEW
YORK, USA, Monday December 31, 2012 – Jamaican sprint ace Usain Bolt has done
it again, bagging yet another award as the United States Sports Academy's
(USSA) 2012 Male Athlete of the Year.
US
tennis player Serena Williams took the honours as the USSA Female Athlete of
the Year.
Bolt
and Williams topped the voting for the USSA's 28th annual Athlete of the Year
awards, which are presented in conjunction with NBC Sports.
Sports
lovers from around the world chose the top male and female athlete from 12 male
and 12 female nominees in online balloting on the USSA website. Voting took
place from December 1 through December 21.
The
Athlete of the Year Award is the culmination of USSA's Athlete of the Month
programme in which the public nominates and votes online every month for the
top athletes. Through those votes and an USSA selection committee, the male and
female monthly winners are chosen, going on to form the list from which the
Athlete of the Year is selected.
Bolt,
USSA’s 2012 Male Athlete of the Year, remains the world's fastest man by
successfully defending his titles as the Olympic gold medallist in the 100 and
200 metres at the 2012 London Games, becoming the first man to win both events
in successive Summer Olympics. The 26-year-old track star went on to take a
third gold medal as the anchor of Jamaica's world record-setting 400-metre
relay team, repeating his hat-trick of wins at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Bolt
triumphed over 11 finalists for the Male Athlete of the Year honour: New
Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel
Cabrera, US speedskater J.R. Celski, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, US
decathlete Ashton Eaton, Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Irish golfer Rory
McIlroy, Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi, Scottish tennis player Andy
Murray, US swimmer Michael Phelps and British cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
Michael
Phelps emerged runner-up for the 2012 Male Athlete of the Year honour. The most-decorated
Olympian in history pushed his total to 22 medals, including 18 gold, as he
became the first man to win the same event at three consecutive Olympics in the
200-metre individual medley at the 2012 London Games.
Novak
Djokovic, the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year, finished third for the 2012
honour.
Serena
Williams, the 2012 Female Athlete of the Year, took the gold medals in women's
singles and doubles at the 2012 London Games and won the championships at
Wimbledon and the US Open, running her total of Grand Slam titles to 15.
The
other finalists for the Female Athlete of the Year Award were Belarusian tennis
player Victoria Azarenka, Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings, US gymnast
Gabby Douglas, British heptahlete Jessica Ennis, US sprinter Allyson Felix, US
swimmer Missy Franklin, US sprinter Carmelita Jeter, Italian figure skater
Carolina Kostner, US golfer Jessica Korda, Taiwanese golfer Yani Tseng and US
alpine skier Lindsey Vonn.
Franklin
finished second to Williams for the 2012 Female Athlete of the Year Award. The
17-year-old earned four gold medals and one bronze medal at the London Games.
Vonn finished third in the female voting.
SOURCE: http://www.caribbean360.com
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