Cyclists Evelyn Stevens & Connor Fields receive USOC honors

  
  


Stevens became the first American to win La Flèche Wallonne Féminine to help her win the USOC's Female Athlete of the Month of April. (Photo by Casey Gibson)
Stevens became the first American to win La Flèche Wallonne Féminine to help her win the USOC's Female Athlete of the Month of April. (Photo by Casey Gibson)
Two cyclists earned Athlete of the Month recognition for their performances in the month of April, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. Evelyn Stevens (Acton, Mass./Specialized-lululemon) earned top prize in the monthly honor while Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev./Chase BMX) placed third in the male voting.

Stevens became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, breaking a 15-year drought on April 18 in Huy, Belgium. Stevens passed Marianne Vos of the Netherlands on the second and final climb up on the Mur de Huy to win. Stevens finished the 123-kilometer race in 3:26:32, capping off an overall successful day for the American crew. If Stevens remains in the top-10 of the women’s world cup rankings, her world cup win may automatically qualify her for nomination to the U.S. Olympic Team.

Fields collected two gold medals in the opening round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup and scored a national title at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., at an event spanning March 30-April 1. The 19-year-old twice posted the fastest time-trial run to win the time-trial superfinal at BMX Supercross World Cup No. 1. He went on to win the overall gold medal in the elite’s men’s main, defeating the 2008 Olympic champion, and wrapped it up by winning the USA Cycling BMX National Championship. Fields on Saturday, April 14 collected his third consecutive supercross world cup win in Randaberg, Norway. Fields narrowly defeated Australian Sam Willoughby in the final heat.

Para Track & Field’s Blake Leeper (Nashville, Tenn.) took the men’s top prize while the U.S. men’s epee fencing team earned Team of the Month honors.

Leeper set the world on fire during the month of April. At three different events held between April 14-28, he established new American records in the 100-meter (11.31), 200-meter (21.98) and 400-meter (51.97). His 100 and 200 times ranked second in the world and his 400 was the top in the world. Leeper is a double leg, below-the-knee amputee.

Connor Fields earned the elite men's national championship which helped him place third in April's USOC Athlete of the Month. (Photo by Jerry Landrum)
Connor Fields earned the elite men's national championship which helped him place third in April's USOC Athlete of the Month. (Photo by Jerry Landrum)
The U.S. men’s epee fencing team won the world championship on April 14, marking the first time a U.S. men’s fencing team has ever won gold at the event. Seth Kelsey (Brush Prairie, Wash.), Soren Thompson (San Diego, Calif.), Ben Bratton (Queens, N.Y.) and Cody Mattern (Tigard, Ore.) defeated France, the six-time reigning world champions, in the final to capture the gold medal, 44-37.

Para swimmer Anna Johannes (Alexandria, Va.) placed second in the female vote, while freeskier Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) finished third. Equestrian Rich Fellers (Sherwood, Ore.) rode to second in the male competition, while Fields placed third. In the team vote, beach volleyball duo Phil Dalhausser (Orlando, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) took second place. The women’s 4x100-meter relay team, which competed at USA vs. the World, rounded out the competition in third.

Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. A voting panel selects the winners from the pool of nominees with online fan voting via Twitter accounting for 10 percent of the total vote.





 





FEMALE
1. Evelyn Stevens, Cycling
2. Anna Johannes, Para Swimming
3. Devin Logan, Skiing

MALE
1. Blake Leeper, Para Track & Field
2. Rich Fellers, Equestrian
3. Connor Fields, Cycling

TEAM
1. U.S. Men’s Epee Team, Fencing
2. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, Beach Volleyball
3. Women’s 4x100m Relay Team, Track & Field



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