Taiwan’s Yani Tseng has been named the US Sports Academy’s Female Athlete of the Month for last month.
World No. 1 Tseng had been nominated for the award for the second month in a row after successfully defending her British Open title at the end of last month, making the 22-year-old the youngest golfer, man or woman, to capture five major titles.
The Taoyuan County native has been at the top of the women’s golf charts for the past 26 weeks, according to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
US swimmer Ryan Lochte, who won five gold medals and set a world record at the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai last month, was named the academy’s Male Athlete of the Month.
The runner up to Tseng in the Female Athlete of the Month voting was 16-year-old US swimmer Missy Franklin, who won five medals, including three golds, at the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai.
Finishing second in the male athlete category was Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who vaulted to the world No. 1 spot after winning his first ever Wimbledon title on July 3.
Third-place winners were Federica Pellegrini, an Italian swimmer who became the first woman to win both the 200m and 400m freestyle at the world swimming championships twice, and Derek Jeter, who became the first New York Yankee to surpass 3,000 career hits.
The academy invites nominations for the Athlete of the Month candidates on its Web site, www.ussa.edu, and the winners are determined by online voting along with the academy’s selection committee. The monthly winners will be considered as candidates for the Athlete of the Year ballot in December.
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