GHAFFARI PLACES FIFTH AND HENSON PLACES NINTH IN 1998 USOC SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD VOTING1998 Greco-Roman wrestling World silver medalist Matt Ghaffari (Avon Lake, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) placed fifth and 1998 freestyle wrestling World Champion Sammie Henson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) placed ninth in the voting for the 1998 U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year Award.
The top 10 finishers were announced at a prestigious USOC dinner held at the Indiana Convention Center on December 16. At the event, the USOC announced that Alpine skier Picabo Street (Sun Valley, Idaho), freestyle skiing moguls specialist Jonny Moseley (Tiburon, Calif.) and the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team, who all earned gold medals at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, swept the 1998 United States Olympic Committee Sports Awards.
Street, who won the women's super G in Nagano, was named USOC SportsWoman of the Year; Moseley, who won the Olympic men's moguls event, was named USOC SportsMan of the Year; and the Olympic champion 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team was named USOC Team of the Year. It is only the fourth time in the history of the USOC awards that athletes from the same sport have won the top honors.
It was the third straight year that two wrestlers have placed in the top 10 of the SportsMan of the Year ballotting. In 1996, Olympic Champion freestyle wrestler Kurt Angle placed fifth and Olympic silver medalist Greco-Roman wrestler Matt Ghaffari placed sixth. In 1997, World Champion freestyle wrestler Les Gutches placed sixth and Deaf World Champion wrestler Matt Hamill placed 10th.
Ghaffari won a silver medal at the 1998 World Greco-Roman Championships at 286 pounds. His only loss was to superstar Alexander Karelin of Russia, an 11-time World and Olympic champion who has never lost an international match. Ghaffari also claimed gold medals at the U.S. National Championships and the Greco-Roman World Team Trials.
Henson won a gold medal at 119 pounds at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships. The victory was especially historic, as the competition was held in Tehran, Iran. Henson also claimed silver medals at the 1998 World Cup and 1998 Goodwill Games, as well at gold medals at the U.S. National Championships and the Freestyle World Team Trials.
The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations since 1974. The team award category was added in 1996. Voters for the awards include national media, the USOC Board of Directors and the USOC Athletes' Advisory Board. Winners are selected from the individual male and female Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year nominations of the National Governing Bodies for the Olympic and Pan American Games sports, and the affiliated and disabled sports organizations.
Women's World freestyle wrestling champion Tricia Saunders (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) was among the nominees for the SportsWoman of the Year award, but she was not among the top 10 vote-getters in the balloting.
Only one wrestler has ever won the USOC SportsMan of the Year award, two-time Olympic Champion John Smith, who claimed this prestigious honor in 1990.
Moseley, 23, earned his first Olympic medal in Nagano, using his signature "360 heli mute grab" to capture the gold in the freestyle moguls. Moseley was also the first U.S. athlete to earn a medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano.
Street, 27, returned from reconstructive knee surgery in December 1997 to capture her first Olympic gold medal in the women's super G in Nagano, Japan, in February. She also placed sixth in the women's downhill event at the '98 Games, finishing just .17 seconds out of a spot on the medal podium.
The U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team ran away with the voting in the USOC Team of the Year category, following its historic gold-medal victory over rival Canada at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Head coach Ben Smith and the 20 team members became the first-ever Olympic champions in women's ice hockey with their 3-1 win against the Canadians.
1998 SportsMan Of The Year:
1. Jonny Moseley (skiing), 567 pts.; 2. Lance Armstrong (cycling), 371; 3. Lenny Krazelburg (swimming), 323; 4. Todd Eldredge (figure skating), 312; 5. Matt Ghaffari (Greco-Roman wrestling), 275; 6. Chris Thorpe (luge), 256; 7. Bryan Bronson (track & field), 245; 8. Andre Agassi (tennis), 221; 9. Sammie Henson (freestyle wrestling), 215; 10. Chris Drury (ice hockey), 204.
1998 SportsWoman of the Year:
1. Picabo Street (skiing), 546 pts; 2. Marion Jones (track & field), 515; 3. Lindsay Davenport (tennis), 498; 4. Michelle Kwan (figure skating), 462; 5. Jenny Thompson (swimming), 415; 6. Mia Hamm (soccer), 397; 7(tie). Karyn Bye (ice hockey) and Lisa Fernandez (softball), 316; 9. Christine Witty (speed skating), 250; 10. Lisa Leslie (basketball), 188.
1998 USOC Team Of The Year:
1. 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team, 768 pts.; 2. 1998 USA Basketball Women's World Championship Team, 500; 3. USA Softball Women's National Team, 457; 4. USA Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Team (Goodwill Games), 408; 5. Men's Luge Duo (Mark Grimmette, Brian Martin), 381; 6. Men's Eight Rowing World Championship Team, 265; 7. USA Baseball Youth (16 and under) National Team, 162; 8. U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team, 112; 9. Men's Olympic Bow Team (Tournament of Nations), 69; 10. U.S. National I Synchronized Swimming Team, 58.