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Voting is now open for the 2024 USATF Wing Awards and Athlete of the Year Awards

Posted on by Pranco
Voting is now open for the 2024 USATF Wing Awards and Athlete of the Year Awards

Athletics fans can now vote to help select the top performers and performers of 2024, including the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year, Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year and three Wing Awards presented by Greater Orlando Sports. USATF will present all awards during the 2024 Night of Legends on Saturday evening, December 7, as part of the USATF Annual Meeting.

Now in its 43rd year, the Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year Awards are USATF’s highest honor. The awards, presented annually since 1981, recognize two of the year’s most distinguished athletes. The winners are chosen by a combination of fan and media votes.

Wing Awards up for grabs at Night of Legends 2024 include Breakthrough Performer, Spiring Olympic Performance and Most Dominant Performer. The winners are chosen as a direct result of a fan vote.

Nominees are:

2024 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year

  • Valarie Allman – undefeated in 11 discus competitions, Allman won the Olympic title in Paris and the Diamond League title in Brussels. She set an Olympic Trials record in Eugene and had the top 29 performances by an American this year. Her 70.89/232-7 in the qualifying round of the Trials was the third-farthest throw ever by an American.

  • Tara Davis-Woodhall – Gold medalist in the long jump at the Olympic Games and World Indoor Championships, Davis-Woodhall was undefeated in 10 events. She won the USATF Indoor gold and also triumphed at the Olympic Trials. Her 7.18/23-6.75 at the USATF Indoor meet made her the fourth best American performer ever.

  • Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – McLaughlin-Levrone defended her Olympic title in the 400 meters hurdles in Paris with a world record of 50.37 and also helped the American quartet to an American record in the 4×400 relay at the Games. She broke her own world record with a 50.65 to win the Olympic Trials and was undefeated in all individual events this year. McLaughlin-Levrone clocked 22.07 in the 200 and 48.75 in the 400, the third-fastest times ever by an American.

  • Masai Russel – Olympic gold medalist in Paris, Russell became the second-fastest American ever with a 12.25, which gave her the Olympic Trials title in Eugene. At the World Indoor Championships she finished fourth in the 60 meter hurdles.

  • Gabby Thomas Thomas was a three-time gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, earning individual glory in the 200 with a 21.83 that gave her a quarter-second margin of victory. She returned to help the U.S. to gold in the 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay, handling the third leg in each. Thomas won the Olympic Trials and set a world leading time of 21.78 in the semi-finals.

Jesse Owens 2024 Male Athlete of the Year

  • Rai Benjamin – dominant in the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics, Benjamin romped home to gold in 46.46, tying the third-fastest time ever by an American and the No. 5 all-time world performance. He guided the American men to victory in the 4×400 relay in 2:54.43, an Olympic record and the second-fastest time ever. Benjamin won the Olympic Trials in 46.46 and was undefeated all season.

  • Ryan Crouser – in winning a record third consecutive Olympic title in the shot put, Crouser added titles at the World Indoor Championships, Olympic Trials and USATF Indoor Championships. At the USATF Indoor he sets a meet record with his 22.80/74-9.75 swell.

  • Quincy Hall – a dramatic sprint down the stretch earned Hall the Olympic 400 gold in Paris, and his 43.40 made him the third-ranked American performer of all time and No. 4 on the all-time world list. He won the Olympic Trials in 44.17 and achieved Diamond League victories in Stockholm and Monaco.

  • Cole Hocker – Hocker disrupted the charts with a thrilling sprint over the last 100 of the 1500 in Paris, taking gold in 3:27.65, just shy of the American record and good for number 7 on the all-time list of world performers. He also won gold at the Olympic Trials and was the silver medalist at the World Indoor Championships.

  • Grant Holloway – Taking Olympic gold after winning three World Championships in the 110m hurdles, Holloway raced to a 12.99 in Paris, which was his fifth of six clocking sub-13 seconds this year. He won the Olympic Trials in 12.86, ranked No. 4 all-time in the US and the world, and won the gold at the World Indoor Championships in 60 meter hurdles after setting a world record of 7.27 in the semifinals of the USATF Indoor Championships.

  • Noah Lyles – adding Olympic gold in the 100 to the World Championship title he won last year, Lyles set a personal best of 9.79 in Paris and became the No. 6 all-time American performer. He won the Olympic Trials 100 in 9.83 and added the 200 title in 19.53. At the World Indoor Championships, Lyles took silver in the 60, and he won the USATF Indoor Championships in 6.43, a lifetime best. He helped the U.S. win gold in the 4×100 at the World Track and Field Championships, and was a silver medalist in the 4×400 relay at the World Indoor Championships.

Wing Award – Breakthrough Artist in 2024

  • Anna Cockrel – Cockrell broke her lifetime record with a score of 51.87 to earn silver in the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics. That effort made her the No. 3 American and No. 4 world artist of all time. She was also second at the finals of the Olympic Trials and the Diamond League.

  • Annette Echikun woke up – Echikunwoke became the first-ever U.S. medalist in the women’s hammer at the Olympics, earning silver with a throw of 75.48/247-8, which moved her to No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performers list. She was also the Olympic Trials champion.

  • Jasmine Moore – A pair of bronze medals in Paris made Moore the first American woman to medal in the long jump and triple jump at a single Olympic Games. Her medal in the triple jump was also the first ever for an American at the Games. Moore was the Olympic Trials triple jump champion and runner-up in the long jump.

  • Kenneth Rooks – Rooks earned silver in the men’s 3000 steeplechase in Paris with a huge record of 8:06.41. That made him the No. 2 American artist of all time and shaved nearly nine seconds off his previous record. Rooks also won the Olympic Trials title.

  • Masai Russel – Russell upset national favorite Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France and reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico with a 12.33 for gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in Paris.

Wing Award – Inspirational Olympic Achievement 2024

  • Annette Echikun woke up – Olympic Trials champion Echikunwoke unleashed a 75.48/247-8 in the third round in Paris to take silver and become the first American woman to medal in the hammer at the Olympics.

  • Grant Visser – Fisher ran a pair of tough races to earn bronze in the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 in Paris, becoming the first American man to medal in both distance events at a single Games. His 26:43.46 in the 10,000 was the second-fastest American performance ever.

  • Quincy Hall – In fourth place after the final turn in the men’s 400, Hall dug deep and made up almost half a second on leader Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain in the closing stages to take gold in 43.40, moving up to third place in the rankings. -time US artist list.

  • Cole Hocker – A final lap of 53.3 and a final 100 of 13.0 gave Hocker a historic win in the men’s 1500, stopping the clock in an Olympic record 3:27.65. Fifth at the bell, Hocker steadily moved through the lead group, moving from third to first in the homestretch for the win.

  • Jasmine Moore – Doing what no American woman had ever done before at a single Olympic Games, Moore earned bronze medals in the long jump and triple jump. She was also the first American medalist ever in the triple jump.

  • Kenneth Rooks – In the back half of the pack in the men’s 3000 steeplechase, with 600 to go, Rooks started to move up and took the lead with 300 to go. He held on to the silver in 8:06.41, the fastest ever by an American at the Games.

Wing Award – 2024 Most Dominant Artist

  • Valarie Allman – Olympic Games, Olympic Trials and Diamond League champion in women’s discus, Allman was undefeated in 11 matches and recorded the third and fourth furthest throws ever by an American.

  • Tara Davis-Woodhall – Davis-Woodhall, winner of the Olympic Games, World Indoor Championships, Olympic Trials and USATF Indoor Championships, was undefeated in 10 long jump competitions.

  • Grant Holloway – Olympic men’s 110m hurdles champion and World Indoor 60H Championships gold medalist, Holloway set a world record in the 60H with a 7.27 at the USATF Indoor Championships, and he had six clockings under 13 seconds in the 110H.

  • Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games, also taking gold in the 4×400 relay in Paris and helping to set an American record. She had the third-fastest 400 time ever by an American with a 48.75.

Fans can click here to cast their votes now through November 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET.