The Shibutanis are semi-finalists (Now finalists) for the Sullivan Award

Tinami Amori

Tinami Amori

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When the results be announced? I did not have a chance to search? (if anyone knows, thank you in advance).
 
VGThuy

VGThuy

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Maybe the announcement got delayed because of the snow storm in New York and nobody went to work, :lol:.
 
Sylvia

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"Finalist Voting for the the 88th AAU James E. Sullivan Award presented by Eastbay now open.

Vote once per day for your favorite athlete until voting closes March 29 at 11:59 PM [Eastern time].

The winner will be announced in a ceremony at the New York Athletic Club on April 17, 2018."

https://aausullivan.secure-platform.com/a/gallery?roundId=5

The 7 Finalists are:

Maia and Alex Shibutani, Figure Skating

Kyle Snyder, Wrestling

Kelly Hunter, Women's Volleyball

Joel Berry II, Men's Basketball

Erin Finn, Distance Running

Annika Albrecht, Women's Volleyball

Angela "Annie" Peavy, Para-equestrian

ETA: Thanks to the Admin. for updating the thread title! :)
 
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Barbara Manatee

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It depends on how much the public vote counts. I don't think an equestrian has the fan base or organizational support to rally votes like nominees in popular NCAA or Olympic sports. I've already gotten SM messages from USFS to vote for the Shibs. (Good job, guys.)
 
KCC

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Sylvia

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Photo of Maia & Alex before the ceremony: https://www.instagram.com/p/BhsDbBlFN0e/?taken-by=icenetwork

LIVE stream of the Sullivan Award reveal announcement & ceremony (ETA: starts just before the 17-minute mark on the recorded stream): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm-UhWikR9k

ETA:

Congrats to wrestler Kyle Snyder on winning this year! At the beginning of his speech he said he was a Sullivan Award finalist last year.
An AAU James E. Sullivan Award finalist last year, Snyder was an NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion and All-American in 2017 and 2018. He earned U.S. Male Olympic Athlete of the Year honors and was crowned Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year. Snyder is the Ivan Yarygin gold medalist (97kg) and his 2017 World Championship match was dubbed “Match of the Century,” as his win gave USA Wrestling its first World Team title in 22 years.
Click to expand...
ETA #2:

The group of Sullivan Award finalists pose together: https://www.instagram.com/p/BhsbIEBhXIa/?taken-by=maiashibutani
 
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VGThuy

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I'm glad it was explained that the popular vote was 1/3 of the tally and another third is the AAU James E. Sullivan committee and board of directors (50 people) and the national media makes up the final third. As a finalist, the Shibs are now members who can vote for the James E. Sullivan award (all semi-finalists become members).

ETA: Time stamp link to Shibs interview with host Carl Lewis during the ceremony: https://youtu.be/rm-UhWikR9k?t=5156

Lewis interviewed all the finalists one-by-one, which I thought was a nice touch in theory but Lewis is sort of an awkward host.
 
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aftershocks

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It was a great ceremony to watch. I enjoyed the videos of Jim Thorpe and of Carl Lewis' exploits, especially the slo-mo of his long jumps. Lewis had some wonderful things to say as MC. He was a bit awkward during the Q&A feature, but it was nice to hear from each athlete. Apparently, Maia & Alex weren't available to join the other athletes during the 'Escape Room' NY Subway video. Probably they couldn't get a flight into New York in time for that outing.

I would have liked to see Maia and Alex win the award this year, but wow, there were just so many great athletes who had amazing accomplishments this year. I didn't realize that Kyle Snyder was a former finalist. Kudos to Snyder -- he truly has achieved some remarkable athletic accomplishments, and he's obviously an outstanding human being and a great role model. The things Snyder said in his speech were so thoughtful, warm-hearted and inspiring.

I was marveling at some of the things that were said throughout the ceremony about the qualities that exemplify the greatest athletes -- and every quality that was mentioned reminded me of the Shibutanis and everything they've had to overcome throughout their career. It's their dedication, their attention to detail, their family's support, leaving no stone unturned in their training regimen and competitive strategies, and especially their ability to come back from setbacks and to never give up. All of this as well as giving back to others and being great role models. Kudos to Maia and Alex.

I was surprised not to see any clips of former Sullivan Award winner, Michelle Kwan, but there were a few of Sarah Hughes, Evan Lysacek and Sasha Cohen. It was also nice to see clips and quotes from former finalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White. I'd forgotten that Meryl & Charlie were former finalists. Clearly, it's not easy to win since Davis/White and the Shibutanis are certainly highly deserving to have won the award, but came up against stiff competition in their award years.

I look forward to seeing where Maia's and Alex's beautiful journey will take them next. :cheer::encore:
 
DreamSkates

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Japanfan said:
Figure skating is very very expensive. But, I would think that equestrian is the most expensive sport in the world.
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Likely true. A world-caliber horse (could be a six figure price tag) may not even belong to the rider but is owned by someone else - much more expensive than the best pair of skates and you don't pay thousands to board/feed the skates, and you don't have to train the skates as well as yourself.
 
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