USA Triathlon
March 17, 2009 (Colorado Springs, CO) – USA Triathlon has announced the recipients of its annual Elite Athlete of the Year awards for 2008 as selected by the USAT Athlete Advisory Council and sponsored by Garmin International.
Highlighting the list are Olympic/ITU Triathletes of the Year Matt Reed and Laura Bennett of Boulder.
“This is a huge honor and I am thrilled to receive this award,” said Reed. “Last year was a year of super highs and low lows, and this award helps me swallow my sub-par performance at my first Olympic games and know that my week in, week out performances were appreciated.”
“We have several great women representing USA in triathlon,” said Bennett. “I feel honored to be among them and have the opportunity to be awarded the recognition for USAT Athlete of the year for 2008.”
Andy Potts of Colorado Springs made the the list as Elite Non-ITU Athlete of the Year; and Jasmine Oeinck of Littleton was named Elite U23 Athlete of the Year.
“I am honored to be named 2008 Athlete of the Year (Non-ITU). It is always nice to be recognized for my hard work and dedication by my peers and USAT,” said Potts. “I had some pretty lofty goals when the season began. Even though I had some disappointments during the year, I think that my ability to bounce back and achieve new goals was what made the year a success. I consider myself very fortunate that I can learn and relearn some of life’s lessons through triathlon.”
“It’s a great honor to receive U23 athlete of the year,” said Oeinck. “It has been a great learning and growing experience to race in the U23 category, and I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities of aging up; although it would be nice to be like Peter Pan and the lost boys and stay young forever and be a perpetual U23 athlete.”
The list also includes Becky Lavelle as Non-ITU Athlete of the Year; Laurel Wassner and Daniel Bretscher as Rookies of the Year (first pro race was in 2008); Ethan Brown as U23 Athlete of the Year; as well as Kate Ross and Ben Steavenson as Junior Athletes of the Year.
Elite ITU Athletes of the Year
Matt Reed, 33, Boulder
2008 Accomplishments
5th place – ITU World Championships, Vancouver, BC, Canada
32nd place – Olympic Games, Beijing, China
USA Triathlon National Champion
U.S. Olympic Team Trials Champion
USA Triathlon Haul to the Great Wall Champion
Escape to Bermuda Champion
St Anthony’s Triathlon Champion
Boulder Peak Triathlon Champion
Miami International Champion
5th place – Lifetime Fitness Triathlon
4th place – Accenture Chicago Triathlon
2nd place – ITU World Cup- Richards Bay South Africa
10th place – ITU World Cup- Madrid, Spain
Laura Bennet, 33, Boulder
2008 Accomplishments
4th place – Olympic Games, Beijing, China
4th place – ITU World Cup, Des Moines, Iowa
4th place – ITU World Cup, Mooloolaba, Australia
4th place – USA Triathlon Nationals, Portland, Oregon
Elite Non-ITU Athlete of the Year
Andy Potts, 32, Colorado Springs
2008 Accomplishments
7th place – IRONMAN World Championship (top American)
6th place – IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship (top American)
1st place – IRONMAN 70.3 California
1st place – IRONMAN 70.3 Timberman
1st place – Escape from Alcatraz
2nd place – Lifetime Fitness Triathlon
2nd place – U.S. Olympic Team Trials
2nd place – St. Anthony’s Triathlon
2nd place – LA Triathlon
2nd place – Dallas US Open Triathlon
2008 U.S. Olympic Team alternate
Elite U23 Athlete of the Year
Jasmine Oeinck, 23, Littleton / Colorado Springs
2008 Accomplishments
1st place – USAT U23 National Championships
2nd place – ITU U23 World Championships
2nd place – Boulder Peak Triathlon
3rd place – Miami International Triathlon
3rd place – Nautica Malibu Triathlon
5th place – 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials
6th place – USAT Elite Nationals
9th place – Dallas US Open
16th place – ITU Toengyoung World Cup