Hoff Named USOC SportsWoman of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, April 6. OLYMPIAN Katie Hoff (Towson, Md. / North Baltimore) was voted the 2005 United States Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year Wednesday, the first time a swimmer has received the award since Jenny Thompson won in 1999.

Hoff might have been the rookie on the 2004 Olympic Team, but her performance at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal proved one thing: what a difference a year makes. The 16-year-old captured three gold medals at the 2005 World Championships, winning both the 200 and 400 individual medley events in World Championship record time. Hoff's American-record swim in the 200 IM was the second-fastest performance of all time and the second time she broke the record in that event in 2005.

In the 400m IM, Hoff lowered her former personal best by more than 3.5 seconds. In addition to dominating the IM events, Hoff swam a key leg on the gold medal winning 4 x 200 free relay, turning in a split of 1:58.50. At the 2005 World Championship Trials in April, she won three events and was second in the 200 back. The North Baltimore Aquatic Club standout rounded out a stellar year at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, winning both of the IM events and setting a U.S. Open record in the 400m IM.

“Receiving this award is such an honor, and I can honestly say it’s definitely a shock,” Hoff said. “I never thought I would get it this year because of all the amazing performances from the other athletes nominated. This was a big year for me because I didn’t accomplish all of my goals in the 2004 at the Olympics. That was the biggest motivation for me to do well, and that’s how I approached swimming last year.”

The eighth swimmer selected for the annual award, Hoff joins Shirley Babashoff (1974), Kathy Heddy (1975), Tracy Caulkins (1978, 1984), Sippy Woodhead (1979), Janet Evans (1989), Amy Van Dyken (1996) and Jenny Thompson (1999) as USOC SportsWoman of the Year recipients.

Triathlete Hunter Kemper, the men's badminton doubles team of Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach and Paralympic alpine skier Laurie Stephens were voted the 2005 United States Olympic Committee SportsMan, Team of the Year and the Paralympian of the Year, respectively.

The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1974 to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations. The team award was added in 1996 and the Paralympian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 2004. Winners are selected from the individual female and male Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year nominations of the National Governing Bodies for the Olympic, Pan American, Affiliated and Disabled Sports Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

All-time USOC SportsWoman of the Year honorees:

1974 – Shirley Babashoff, Swimming
1975 – Kathy Heddy, Swimming
1976 – Sheila Young, Speedskating
1977 – Linda Fratianne, Figure Skating
1978 – Tracy Caulkins, Swimming
1979 – Cynthia "Sippy" Woodhead, Swimming
1980 – Beth Heiden, Speedskating
1981 – Sheila Young Ochowicz, Cycling/Speedskating
1982 – Melanie Smith, Equestrian
1983 – Tamara McKinney, Skiing
1984 – Tracy Caulkins, Swimming
1985 – Mary Decker Slaney, Athletics
1986 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Athletics
1987 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Athletics
1988 – Florence Griffith Joyner, Athletics
1989 – Janet Evans, Swimming
1990 – Lynn Jennings, Athletics
1991 – Kim Zmeskal, Gymnastics
1992 – Bonnie Blair, Speedskating
1993 – Gail Devers, Athletics
1994 – Bonnie Blair, Speedskating
1995 – Picabo Street, Skiing
1996 – Amy Van Dyken, Swimming
1997 – Tara Lipinski, Figure Skating
1998 – Picabo Street, Skiing
1999 – Jenny Thompson, Swimming
2000 – Marion Jones, Athletics
2001 – Jennifer Capriati, Tennis
2002 – Sarah Hughes, Figure Skating
2003 – Michelle Kwan, Figure Skating
2004 – Carly Patterson, Gymnastics
2005 – Katie Hoff, Swimming

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