Marti wins USOC Athlete of the Month!

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2002

Marti Malloy, Tim DeBoom and U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey Team
Honored by the United States Olympic Committee as Top Performers of
October 2002

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The United States Olympic Committee
(USOC)
announced today the selection of Judo’s Marti Malloy and Triathlete
Tim DeBoom as its October 2002 Athletes of the Month. Team of the
Month honors were awarded to the U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey
Team.

Malloy (Vallejo, Calif.) garnered the Athlete of the Month title
after the 16-year-old became the only U.S. woman to win a gold medal
on the October North American Tour. She beat 2000 U.S. Olympian
Ellen Wilson in the finals of the women’s 57kg division at the
RendezVous Judo Championships in Montreal, Canada, Oct. 17. Malloy
opened the day with three quick Ippon victories (instant win, like a
pin in wrestling or knockout in boxing) including wins against
Canadian Senior National bronze medalist Maryse Guilbault and former
U.S. Champion Carrie Chandler. Marti defeated Great Britain’s Jennie
Brien – the 2002 Commonwealth Games silver medalist – to get to the
finals and set up the match with 2001 and 2002 British Open Champ
Wilson. Malloy was able to overcome a scoring deficit in the match
and forced the older, more experienced player into uncharacteristic
errors that earned her the medal. Malloy also finished in fifth
place in the U.S. Open in Las Vegas.

For the men, DeBoom (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) won his second straight
Ironman World Title on Oct. 19 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. An Ironman
distance race consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a
26.2-mile run. DeBoom completed the race in 8:29:56.

The U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey Team earned the Team of the
Month award after it won the inaugural International Atlantic Cup,
Oct. 9-13, at the team’s National Training Center in Virginia Beach,
Va. The U.S. defeated Ireland, 3-2, in extra time in the
championship game, avenging a 2-1 loss to the Irish in pool play. The
U.S. downed Scotland, 2-1, and Mexico, 7-0, on its way to the title
game. The tournament served as the team’s final tune-up for the FIH
World Cup, Nov. 24-Dec. 8 in Perth, Australia.

Finishing second among females nominated was Field Hockey’s Tracey
Fuchs. Fuchs (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored four goals in four games
to help lead the U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey Team to the
tournament championship at the International Atlantic Cup, Oct. 9-13,
in Virginia Beach. The most-capped player in U.S. Field Hockey
history with 223 career international appearances, Fuchs scored two
goals in the championship game, including the game-winner in extra
time, to give the USA a 3-2 victory over Ireland in the championship
game.

In third place was USA Fencing’s Carolyn Wright. Wright (Arlington,
Va.) earned silver and gold at the 2002 Junior and Cadet Pan American
Fencing Championships in Santiago, Chile, Oct. 21-26. She earned the
silver in the Under-17 competition, losing the gold to Brazil’s Elora
Ugo Pattaro. She avenged the loss two days later by defeating
Pattaro in the Under-20 women’s sabre event to win the gold. In the
gold medal bout, Wright won a tight match, 15-14, after being down at
one point 9-13. She competed with fencers from Brazil, Mexico,
Columbia, Chile, El Salvador, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Paraguay,
Argentina and Uruguay.

In balloting for Male Athlete of the Month, speedskater Alex
Izykowski (Bay City, Mich.) took second place for his record-breaking
October performances. At the CODA Invitational, Oct. 11-13, held at
the Calgary Olympic Oval, Izykowski set American junior/senior
records in the 1500m and 3000m. In his first 1500m race, he eclipsed
the U.S. Junior record in the event with a time of 2 minutes 14.65
seconds. The time broke the previous American standard held by Apolo
Anton Ohno, who skated a time of 2:15.977 in Calgary on Oct. 20,
2000. Izykowski placed second. In his second 1500m, he bested his
record with a time of 2:13.35, setting a new U.S. Senior and Junior
record in the event. His time beat the 2:13.728 time posted by Ohno.
He finished third in the race. On Oct. 13, Izykowski broke the
American record in the 3000m with a time of 4 minutes 39.362 seconds,
shattering the record of 4:47.03 set by Ron Biondo on March 24 in
Neville Island, Pa. Izykowski placed fourth overall.

Equestrian’s Custom Made (The Plains, Va.) finished third in voting.
The Sydney Olympic gold medal horse carried David O’Connor to victory
in its farewell competition at the 2002 Fair Hill International
Eventing Championship, Oct. 24-27, in Fair Hill, Md. O’Connor had
announced that the Fair Hill International would be the final event
for the 17-year-old thoroughbred who carried him to the individual
gold medal at Sydney. O’Connor and Custom Made topped a starting
field of 78 horses from six countries to win both the Fair Hill
International and the U.S. Equestrian Team Eventing Three-Star Fall
Championship.

Placing second for the team honor was the U.S. National Luge Doubles
Team of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin. Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.)
and Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.) returned to the same track where they
won their 2002 Olympic silver medal and claimed their first title of
the new luge season when they raced to a first place finish, Oct.31,
at the Verizon North American Championships in Park City, Utah. This
is the duo’s third consecutive Verizon North American Championship
crown.

The University of Louisiana-Monroe Water Ski Team and the USA
Baseball Professional Team tied for third among the team honorees.
The University of Louisiana-Monroe knocked off defending champion
Arizona State to win back the Division 1-A national title at the 2002
Collegiate Water Ski National Championships, Oct. 17-19, at The
Aquaplex in Austin, Texas. ULM finished with 7,150 points, edging
runner-up ASU by less than 100 points. The win, which marks ULM’s
17th national title in the 24-year history of the Collegiate
Nationals, served as justification for ULM’s number-one ranking in
the final 2002 National Collegiate Water Ski Association’s Coaches
Poll, released Oct. 24.

The 2002 USA Baseball Professional Team captured the silver medal at
the America Series Championship, Oct. 1-8, and at the same time
qualified the United States for the 2003 Pan Am Games. USA
Baseball’s elite professional team reached its fourth consecutive
gold medal game in major international competition, and the Americans
captured their fourth straight medal since professional players began
participating in 1999.

RESULTS: (First place points)

Women

1. Marti Malloy – 35 (24)

2. Tracey Fuchs – 33 (21)

3. Carolyn Wright – 20 (9)

Also receiving first place votes: Shannon Pluhowsky, Beezie
Patton Madden, Toccara Montgomery and Natalie Brown

Men

1. Tim DeBoom – 42 (30)

2. Alex Izykowski – 27 (12)

3. Custom Made – 22 (15)

Also receiving first place votes: Dan DeMarco, Brian Ward and
Anthony Dirrell

Team

1. U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey Team – 53 (45)

2. U.S. National Luge Doubles Team (Mark Grimmette/Brian Martin) –
31 (6)

3. (Tie) USA Baseball Professional Team – 21 (6)
University of Louisiana-Monroe Water Ski Team – 21 (6)

For more information, contact Julie Eversgerd at

Julie.Eversgerd@usoc.org or (719) 866-3503, Jake Fehling at

Jake.Fehling@usoc.org or (719) 866-2221, or USOC Media and Public

Relations Division, at (719) 866-4529. This release is also
available on the USOC’s public web site (www.usolympicteam.com)and
our media-specific web site (www.usocpressbox.org.)

Jake Fehling

Media and Public Relations

U.S. Olympic Committee

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

719-866-2221 (office)

919-260-2811 (cell)

719-866-4785 (fax)

www.usocpressbox.org

www.usolympicteam.com