Jesse Owens Award

The Jesse Owens Award (also the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award for the female version of the award) is an annual track and field award that is the highest accolade given out by USA Track & Field (USATF). As the country's highest award for the sport, it bears Jesse Owens's name in recognition of his significant career, which included four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. First awarded in 1981 to hurdler Edwin Moses, it was created to recognize the season's top American performer in track and field competitions. In 1996, the award was divided into two categories, with both a male and female winner. The 1996 winners, Michael Johnson and Gail Devers, each won two gold medals at that year's Olympics in Atlanta. Up until 2008, the award was voted on by members of the United States athletics media only, but in 2009 fans were able to vote via the USATF website, with their opinions contributing 10% of the overall result.

The winners of the award are typically announced in late November or early December after the end of the outdoor track and field season. A number of athletes have received the award on more than one occasion: Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the first to do so with back-to-back wins in 1986 and 1987, while Carl Lewis won his second award in 1991. Michael Johnson was the first to receive the award three times (winning consecutively from 1994–1996) and Marion Jones became the first woman to collect three awards after wins in 1997, 1998 and 2002. In 2012, Allyson Felix won the award for the fourth time, thus distinguishing herself as the athlete with the most wins. Winners receive a replica of the award while the original remains on permanent display at the USATF Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. As of 2013, the female version of the award was renamed the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year Award.

List of recipients

Joan Benoit received the award in 1984 after winning the first Olympic marathon for women.
Michael Johnson won the award three years running.
Allyson Felix received the award in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Year Male winner Female winner Ref.
1981 Edwin Moses
1982 Carl Lewis
1983 Mary Decker
1984 Joan Benoit
1985 Willie Banks
1986 Jackie Joyner-Kersee
1987 Jackie Joyner-Kersee
1988 Florence Griffith Joyner
1989 Roger Kingdom
1990 Lynn Jennings
1991 Carl Lewis
1992 Kevin Young
1993 Gail Devers
1994 Michael Johnson
1995 Michael Johnson
1996 Michael Johnson Gail Devers
1997 Allen Johnson Marion Jones
1998 John Godina Marion Jones
1999 Maurice Greene Inger Miller
2000 Angelo Taylor Stacy Dragila
2001 John Godina Stacy Dragila
2002 Tim Montgomery Marion Jones
2003 Tom Pappas Deena Kastor
2004 Justin Gatlin Joanna Hayes
2005 Justin Gatlin Allyson Felix
2006 Jeremy Wariner Sanya Richards
2007 Tyson Gay Allyson Felix
2008 Bryan Clay Stephanie Brown Trafton
2009 Tyson Gay Sanya Richards
2010 David Oliver Allyson Felix
2011 Jesse Williams Carmelita Jeter
2012 Ashton Eaton Allyson Felix
Year Jesse Owens Award Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award Ref.
2013 LaShawn Merritt Brianna Rollins
2014 Mebrahtom Keflezighi Jennifer Simpson
2015 Ashton Eaton Allyson Felix
2016 Matthew Centrowitz Michelle Carter
2017 Sam Kendricks Emma Coburn
2018 Noah Lyles Shelby Houlihan
2019 Donavan Brazier Dalilah Muhammad
2021 Ryan Crouser Sydney McLaughlin

This page was last updated at 2022-08-21 00:17 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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