17. April 2005  
New York / USA  
Artistic Gymnastics

Paul Hamm Wins Sullivan Award

Olympic Champion HAMM

Gymnast Paul Hamm finally won an easy one
No spectacular comeback was necessary. No court battles are foreseen. Olympic gold medallist Hamm received the 75th Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States last week.
. Hamm beat out previous winner Michael Phelps as well as Olympians Carly Patterson, Natalie Coughlin, Cael Sanderson, Andre Ward, Jeremy Wariner and Steven Lopez for the award, which Phelps won last year before going on to claim six gold medals and two bronzes at the Athens Olympics, matching the record for most medals at a single games. ...


In Athens 2004, Hamm came back from 12th place in the all-around with only two events left to become the only U.S. man to win the Olympic all-around. Two days later, gymnastics officials discovered that Yang Tae-Young of South Korea had been wrongly docked 1-10th of one point on his second-to-last routine, the parallel bars.
Yang asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to order international gymnastics officials to change the results and adjust the medal rankings accordingly, giving him the gold and Hamm the silver. But the CAS panel dismissed the appeal, leaving Hamm with the gold.
In the months since, hundreds of people told Hamm he was an inspiration. People told him they admired his perseverance and determination.
Hamm is only the second gymnast to win the Sullivan award.
Kurt Thomas won in 1979.

Voting on the USA Today Web site helped determine the winner. More than 500,000 people voted online. The award is named after Amateur Athletic Union founder James E. Sullivan, and has been presented annually since 1930.
Source: Canadian Press