An American superstar and a Russian teenage sensation were named the United States Sports Academy’s male and female Athletes of the Month for November. Figure skaters Nathan Chen and Alena Kostornaia took home the Academy’s top honors after stellar performances on the ice in the month.
Chen won gold at the Internationaux de France with a score of 297.16 and qualified for his fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final. It was Chen’s eighth consecutive win dating back to the 2018 World Championships.
Kostornaia, 16, posted a new world record score in the ladies’ short program with an 85.04 at the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Sapporo, Japan, on 22 November 2019.
The second place finisher on the men’s side was Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and third place went to Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic.
Jackson had one of the most statistically-impressive months for an NFL quarterback in history, completing 64-of-84 passes for 777 yards in November. Jackson passed for a league-best 13 touchdowns and added three rushing touchdowns without throwing an interception in the month. His passer rating of 143.7 was the third highest in any full month of NFL play ever.
In 14 November games, Doncic of Slovenia averaged 32.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 10.4 assists. He’s just the third player in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double in a calendar month, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.
The second place finisher on the women’s side was American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and third place went to American speed skater Brittany Bowe.
Shiffrin earned her 41st slalom skiing world cup victory – breaking a 33-year-old record held by Sweden’s Igngemar Stenmark – and became the first skier to win four World Cup races in Levi, Finland, in November.
Bowe won gold in the 1,000-meter race and set a track record with a time of 1:15.354 at the world cup event in Belarus on 17 November 2019. Bowe also took bronze in the 1,500-meter race on the previous day.
Each month, the public is invited to participate in the Academy’s worldwide Athlete of the Month program by nominating athletes and then voting online during the first week of every month. The online votes are used to guide the Academy selection committee in choosing the male and female monthly winners, who then become eligible for selection to the prestigious Athlete of the Year ballot. A worldwide public vote on the annual ballot is used to guide the committee in making the final selection.
The Athlete of the Year Award is part of the United States Sports Academy’s Awards of Sport program, which each year serves as “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete.” The Academy presents the awards to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions to sport, in categories as diverse as the artist and the athlete in several different arenas of sport.
The awards honor exemplary achievement in coaching, all-around athletic performance, courage, humanitarian activity, fitness and media, among others. The Academy’s American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) annually recognizes these men and women through its Sport Artist of the Year, Honorary Doctorates, Medallion Series, Distinguished Service Awards, Outstanding Athletes, and Alumni of the Year awards. This is the 35th year of the Academy’s Awards of Sport program.
