Posted: December 20, 2005

Athletics: Kastor Nominated for Athlete of the Year Award

2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. has been nominated for the USAToday.com and United States Sports Academy 2005 Athlete of the Year Award.

In 2005, Kastor, 32, had another impressive racing year. Last October, the Team Running USA athlete won the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 21 minutes, 25 seconds, the third fastest U.S. all-time performance, and Kastor, the U.S. marathon record holder, became the first American woman to win a major world marathon in 11 years. Earlier in the year, the Arkansas grad also set U.S. road records at 8K (24:36) and the half-marathon (1:07:53).

In addition to Kastor, this year's female ballot includes Kim Clijsters, Natalie Coughlin, Tirunesh Dibaba, Yolanda Griffith, Yelena Isinbayeva, Gao Jun, Nastia Liukin, Danica Patrick, Paula Radcliffe, Irina Slutskaya, Annika Sorenstam and Venus Williams.

The 2005 male ballot includes Lance Armstrong, Tom Brady, Reggie Bush, Tim Duncan, Jermaine Dye, Roger Federer, Matt Leinart, Peyton Manning, Bode Miller, Aaron Peirsol, Asafa Powell, Tony Stewart and Tiger Woods.

To submit your vote, go to: USAToday.com or www.ussa.edu.

The online voting window is December 1-24, 2005.

The male or female athlete receiving the most votes will be named the Academy's Athlete of the Year. Past winners include Lance Armstrong, Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Annika Sorenstam and Tiger Woods. The ballot, run in conjunction with USATODAY.com, attracts tens of thousands of votes from sports fans around the globe.

In addition to the Outstanding Athlete of the Year, a Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year will also be selected.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.