Sheila Taormina wins the Jim Thorpe Award!

I'm so proud of this UGA girl! I just received this news release in my UGA swimming and diving newsletter...... Sheila Taormina, former Lady Bulldog (1988-91), gold medalist (1996), and three-time US Olympic team member (1996-00-04), was recently named the first swimmer to receive the Jim Thorpe Award for excellence in multiple sports. Taormina is currently training in modern pentathlon and hopes to make her fourth olympic team in an unprecedented third sport. Georgia's Herschel Walker is among the previous recipients of the honor. The USOC release on Taormina's outstanding accomplishment appears below: ----- U.S. Modern Pentathlete Sheila Taormina Receives United States Sports Academy’s Jim Thorpe All-Around Award COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich./Colorado Springs, Colo.), 2006 U.S. National Modern Pentathlon Champion and elite athlete in three Olympic sports, was honored with the United States Sports Academy’s Jim Thorpe All-Around Award in ceremonies today at the El Pomar Foundation’s Penrose House in Colorado Springs. Taormina was presented this prestigious national award by former U.S. Olympic Committee Vice President Dr. Evie G. Dennis. Taormina is attempting to make history by making her fourth U.S. Olympic Team in an unprecedented third sport. Taormina has already competed in the Olympic Games in the sports of swimming (1996) and triathlon (2000 and 2004). A graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Master’s in Business Administration, she won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., swimming the third leg of the 4x200m relay. Taormina took up the sport of triathlon in 1998 and by 2000 had made her second U.S. Olympic Team finishing in sixth place in Sydney, Australia. At the 2004 Olympic Games, Taormina finished 23rd in the triathlon. In June 2005, Taormina decided to take up yet another sport, modern pentathlon. If Taormina qualifies for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, she will become the first American to compete in three different sports in the Olympic Games. “Sheila Taormina is one of the most outstanding athletes in the world, and we are proud to honor her and her sport with this award,” said USSA President and CEO Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich. By 2006 Taormina was the number one ranked U.S. female modern pentathlete and won the U.S. National Modern Pentathlon Championships title. She posted World Cup finishes as high as third and fifth and finished in 10th place in the 2006 World Cup Final; an astonishing feat for someone in the sport just over a year. With the 2007 World Cup season underway, Taormina has picked up where she left off, finishing fourth in the first World Cup of the season in Mexico City, Mexico, March 2-4. For Taormina, the 2008 Olympic Games are in sight as she enters the Olympic qualifying season. “It is a huge honor to win the Jim Thorpe sports award,” said Taormina. “I am very appreciative to the United States Sports Academy for giving me the award this year. When the USSA forwarded me the list of past recipients I felt so honored to be in such great company.” The Jim Thorpe All-Around Award is named after the legendary Native American athlete who won the Gold medal in the Pentathlon and Decathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games in Antwerp, before an illustrious professional football career. Thorpe was recognized by the Associated Press as the Greatest Football Player and Greatest All-Around Athlete of the first half of the 20th century. The award has been presented annually since 1986 as part of the Academy’s Awards of Sport Medallion Series, which pays “Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete.” Past recipients include Renaldo Nehemiah, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Willie Gault, Charlie Ward, Danny Ainge and Hunter Kemper. For a complete list, please visit www.asama.org. The United States Sports Academy, located in Daphne, Alabama, is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. Modern Pentathlon, an Olympic event since 1912, encompasses the five sports of shooting, fencing, swimming, riding (equestrian) and running. Pentathletes start by shooting 20 shots with an air pistol at a distance of ten meters. The fencing competition is one touch, round-robin. Following fencing, the pentathletes take a dip in the pool to swim 200 meters freestyle. Pentathletes also compete in riding and running. Riding is equestrian show jumping consisting of clearing 15 obstacles while riding a horse drawn from a pool of competition horses. The running is a cross country race. :applaud: :bow: :groovy: