Swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Kira Toussaint set world records at International Swimming League events and earned the United States Sports Academy’s Athlete of the Month honors for November.
Dressel, of the United States, set world records in late November and earned MVP honors at the final International Swimming League event of the season. Dressel set a world record with a time of 49.28 seconds in the 100-meter medley on 22 November. The previous day, Dressel broke world records in the 100-meter butterfly (47.7 seconds) and 50-meter freestyle (20.16 seconds).
Toussaint, of the Netherlands, set a world record in the women’s 50-meter backstroke with a time of 25.06 seconds in the International Swimming League semifinal on 14 November. Toussaint’s time broke the 2017 record of 25.67 seconds previously held by Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros.
The second place finisher on the men’s side was American football player DeVonta Smith and third place went to American golfer Dustin Johnson.
Smith, the University of Alabama wide receiver, became the Southeastern Conference (SEC) all-time touchdown receptions leader after catching nine passes for 144 yards and two scores against Kentucky on 21 November in Tuscaloosa. Smith caught 72 passes for 1,074 yards and 12 touchdowns this season through November and has an SEC record 35 career touchdown catches.
Johnson won The Masters tournament with a record 20-under par 268, two strokes better than Tiger Woods’ 1997 effort, in Augusta, Ga., on 15 November 2020. It was Johnson’s first win at The Masters.
The second place finisher on the women’s side was Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram and third place went to Danish golfer Emily Pedersen.
Ashram won gold in the women’s all-around event at the 2020 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Ukraine on 29 November. Ashram also won the SmartScoring Shooting Star award at the conclusion of the tournament. She is the first Israeli to win an individual all-around medal at a World Championships event.
Pedersen won two Ladies European Tour titles in November 2020. She shot a 14-under par 202 and won the inaugural Saudi Ladies International title with a playoff win over England’s Georgia Hall on 15 November. She also shot a 15-under par 273 to win the Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De Espana on 29 November.
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.
