COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) named triathlete Sarah Haskins its female Athlete of the Month for May following three victories in three starts last month.
Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.), a USA Triathlon National Team member and Beijing Olympian, raced her way to an undefeated month of May. In addition to earning her first career ITU World Cup win in Monterrey, Mexico, on May 8, Haskins was victorious at two of the top domestic Olympic-distance races - the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Fla., on May 1, and the Capitol of Texas Triathlon in Austin, Texas, on May 30. In between her key U.S. wins, Haskins claimed her first career ITU World Cup gold medal after breaking away from the pack midway through the bike and leading wire-to-wire on the 10-kilometer run to top the podium in 1:57:15.
Paralympic long jumper Lex Gillette was honored as the male May Athlete of the Month, while divers Christina Loukas and Abby Johnston were awarded Team of the Month honors.
Haskins is the second consecutive triathlete to earn USOC Athlete of the Month accolades. Hunter Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was honored in April.
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 a Twitter poll, accounts for 10 percent of the total vote.
U.S. Olympic Committee May Athletes and Team of the Month:
Female
1. Sarah Haskins, Triathlon
2. Krisztina Zur, Canoe/Kayak
3. Courtney Mathewson, Water Polo
Male
1. Lex Gillette, Paralympic Track & Field
2. David Zabriskie, Cycling
3. Brady Ellison, Archery
Team
1. Christina Loukas and Abby Johnston, Diving
2. U.S. Men's Recurve Team, Archery
3. U.S. Team, Gymnastics
Photo Credit: (ITU/Rich Cruse)
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