Athletes representing seven different sports make up the United States Sports Academy’s April Athlete of the Month ballot, which is online now for voting at the Academy’s website, www.ussa.edu.
Voting will continue until 5 p.m. Central time on Thursday, 12 April 2022.
Male nominees are Ochai Agbaji, basketball, United States; Evans Chebet, athletics, Kenya; Caeleb Dressel, swimming, United States; Paul Juda, gymnastics, United States; Scottie Scheffler, golf, United States; and Seiya Suzuki, baseball, Japan.
Female nominees are Valarie Allman, athletics, United States; Phoebe Bacon, swimming, United States; Peres Jepchirchir, athletics, Kenya; Jennifer Kupcho, golf, United States; Iga Swiatek, tennis, Poland; and Trinity Thomas, gymnastics, United States.
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 Academy’s American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) annually recognizes these men and women through its Sport Artist of the Year, Honorary Doctorates, Distinguished Service Awards, Outstanding Athletes, and Alumni of the Year awards. This is the 38th year of the Academy’s Awards of Sport program.
