World Triathlon

Triathlete Hunter Kemper has been voted the 2005 United States Olympic Committee SportsMan of the Year, becoming the first male or female triathlete to be selected as the SportsMan or SportsWoman of the Year in the 32-year history of the award.

Its a tremendous honor to receive the male athlete of the year from the USOC, said Kemper, who was the recipient of the Jim Thorpe All-Around Award earlier this year. Its quite humbling, especially when you look at past winners. Its a whos who. The company I am now placed in is tremendous. Its kind of overwhelming to comprehend. It means a lot. I cant stop smiling.

Kemper will join the ranks of some of historys greatest athletes including Lance Armstrong, Carl Lewis, Picabo Street and Marion Jones.

A two-time Olympian, three-time ITU World Cup winner and five-time U.S. pro champion, Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) is the first U.S. male to finish the season No. 1 in the world. Along the way he reached the podium in 10 out of 13 international races, including five first-place finishes, and five out of seven times in World Cup races.  Hunter won the 2005 OSIM ITU Beijing World Cup in September on the 2008 Beijing Olympic course. 

We are very proud of Hunter and his achievement, said ITU Executive Director, Loreen Barnett.  This has a positive impact on the development of our sport and we are excited to see Hunter recognized for all his hard work

The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1974 to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations. The team award was added in 1996 and the Paralympian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 2004. Winners are selected from the individual female and male Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year nominations of the National Governing Bodies for the Olympic, Pan American, Affiliated and Disabled Sports Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

Visit www.triathlon.org for up to date information on the sport of triathlon.

For more information on this release please visit http://www.usoc.org/117_45755.htm