A pair of exciting young artists will be featured at the United States Sports Academy’s annual Awards of Sport program on campus on Thursday, November 10, 2022. The institution will introduce noted sculptor Brett Grill and contemporary painter James Peterson as its latest Sport Artists of the Year during the program, which is free and open to the public. Since 1984, the Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year Award has been given to an individual who captures the spirit and life of sport so that future generations can relive the drama of today’s competition. The recipient may use a variety of art media including film, video or sculpture to depict the breadth and scope of both the agony and the ecstasy of sport. Sport Artist of the Year James [...]

Because of his colorful, contemporary style and dedication to personalizing paintings for athletes and inspirational entertainers, artist James Peterson has been named the United States Sports Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year in the Painter category. Peterson will be introduced to the public at the institution’s Awards of Sport program on its Daphne, Ala., campus on Thursday, November 10, 2022. Peterson is a contemporary portrait artist originally from Milwaukee, Wisc. His original 60×48 portrait of NBA Hall of Fame player Alex English is autographed by both the athlete and the artist. Peterson paints larger-than-life portraits of inspirational athletes and entertainers. As part of that series, Peterson created two unique portraits of each subject, gifting on to the athlete and keeping the other signed original, or in this case, donating it. [...]

American golfer Justin Thomas and Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek impressed on the biggest stages in their sports in June and were named the United States Sports Academy’s Athletes of the Month. Thomas won his second PGA Championship with a playoff win against Will Zalatoris on 22 May 2022 in Tulsa, Okla. Thomas shot a 5-under par 275 to win his second major tournament. Swiatek won her 28th consecutive match and captured the women’s Italian Open title with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur on 15 May 2022. Swiatek has now won all four Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournaments she has played in this season and won her last five WTA tournaments overall. The second place finisher on the men’s side was Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic [...]

Because of his dedication to depicting some of sport and history’s greatest figures, sculptor J. Brett Grill has been selected as the United States Sports Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year, Sculptor. Grill will be introduced to the public during the Academy’s Awards of Sport program on its Daphne, Ala., campus on Thursday, November 10, 2022. Since 1984, the Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year Award has been given to an individual who captures the spirit and life of sport so that future generations can relive the drama of today’s competition. The recipient may use a variety of art media including film, video or sculpture to depict the breadth and scope of both the agony and the ecstasy of sport. Grill, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was recently selected as the [...]

Paul Juda and Trinity Thomas won the men’s and women’s all-around titles at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships and were crowned the United States Sports Academy’s Athletes of the Month for April for their impressive feats. Juda, competing for the University of Michigan, won the men’s all-around title and tied Sam Mikulak’s modern-era school record of six All-America honors at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Oklahoma on 16 April 2022. In addition to the all-around title, Juda also scored 15.000 and won the vault title. Thomas, a University of Florida senior, held off Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee to win the women’s NCAA all-around title on 17 April 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. Thomas also won the uneven bars and floor exercise events. The second place finisher on the men’s side [...]