Sarah Robles Wins Best of Team USA December Honors
JAN. 10, 2018, 12:08 P.M. (ET) The United States Olympic Committee Wednesday named Sarah Robles the winner of the Best of Team USA December. Robles swept gold and went 6-for-6, securing Team USA Women's first World Championship since 1994. Read the USOC's press release below. Congrats, Sarah and THANK YOU for your votes! Congrats to her teammate, Harrison Maurus, for his nomination for Best of Team USA December Award. There's still time to vote for Sarah for the International Weightlifting Federation's Best Lifter of 2017 Award. Click HERE to vote. U.S. Olympic Committee announces Best of December honors for Team USA Awards presented by Dow Figure skater Nathan Chen, weightlifter Sarah Robles and the ice dancing duo of Alex and Maia Shibutani earn December accolades COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Standout performances during December earned figure skater Nathan Chen (Salt Lake City, Utah), weightlifter Sarah Robles (Desert Hot Springs, California) and the ice dancing duo of Alex and Maia Shibutani (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Best of December honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. Nathan Chen capped off a perfect fall season by earning the crown at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. With an overall score of 286.51 points, Chen became the first man to win the grand prix title since Evan Lysacek did so in 2009. He is also the youngest American male to medal at the final. He was the only undefeated man during the grand prix tour, winning the U.S. International Classic, Rostelecom Cup, Skate America and the Grand Prix Final. Sarah Robles went six-for-six at the IWF World Championships in Anaheim, California, sweeping the women’s super heavyweight event with three gold medals in snatch, clean & jerk and total weight. Robles became the first American world champion in weightlifting since Robin Byrd in 1994. She is also just the fourth U.S. woman in history to win a world title and the first since women’s weightlifting became part of the Olympic program in 2000. The Shibutani siblings finished a stellar 2017 fall campaign by winning the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. Coming off a winning performance at Skate America, the duo posted a combined score of 188.00 points in the final. They have qualified for the Grand Prix Final the past four years and won bronze the past two. The ice dancing pair have medaled at every international competition since the beginning of 2016. In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG. About the Team USA Awards Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards. Source: USA
