Daegu 2011 World 400m champion Kirani James, the first Grenadian athlete to win a medal in the World Championships of Athletics, is one of 12 men nominated for the United States Sports Academy’s 2011 Male Athlete of the Year to be announced on Christmas Day, December 25.
Sports fans from across the world will decide who the most outstanding male and female athletes were in 2011, through online voting on the Academy’s Web site at www.ussa.edu. The ballot of 12 males and 12 females went live at midnight last night, Dec. 1 and will close at midnight Saturday, Dec. 24.
The 19-year-old James, the only Caribbean nominee, will go up against 11 others of various disciplines and from several countries. They are: David Beckham, soccer, Great Britain; Patrick Chan, figure skating, Canada; Novak Djokovic, tennis, Serbia; Ryan Lochte, swimming, United States; Rory McIlroy, golf, Ireland; Geoffrey Mutai, marathon, Kenya; Dirk Nowitzki, basketball, Germany; Manny Pacquiao, boxing, Phillipines; Aaron Rodgers, football, United States; Kohei Uchimura, gymnastics, Japan; and Justin Verlander, baseball, United States.
Twelve women are also competing for the Academy’s female Athlete of the Year honor. Among them are 2011 World 100m champion and 200m silver medalist Carmelita Jeter of the US and the US’s English Gardner of the University of Oregon, the reigning Pac-10 100m champion.
The Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the Academy’s yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in sports around the globe. Each month, the worldwide online votes along with the Academy’s selection committee choose the male and female winners.
The 27th annual award is done in conjunction with USA Today and NBC.