Wariner, Tibbs, and Karnazes receive ESPY Awards
Posted July 18th, 2007 at 7:45 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field
Jeremy Wariner and Casey Tibbs were the recipients of ESPY Awards earlier this week presented to the Best Track & Field Athletes of the Year and Dean Karnazes received the ESPY Award for Best Outdoor Athlete.
The ESPYs recognize outstanding achievements and performances by athletes during the previous year and include 19 “Best in Sport” categories, which pit athletes from different sports against each other, along with 17 individual sport categories and two sponsored awards.
In going undefeated on the U.S. and European circuit, Jeremy Wariner posted the fastest 400-meter time and 10 of the top 12 marks in the world in 2006, including 10 of the top 11 American times. Wariner completed a perfect run of the IAAF’s Golden League series, winning a $249,999 share of the Golden League jackpot. His season’s best time of 43.62 seconds at Rome on July 14 is the #7 all-time mark, making him the #4 all-time performer. Other nominees for the award were Sanya Richards, Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix.
The first active duty member of the military to compete in a Paralympic Games, Casey Tibbs had a banner year in 2006. At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands, Tibbs clinched gold in the men’s T44 (lower leg amputee) pentathlon with 4,248 points. The pentathlon consists of five events: long jump, shot put, 100m, discus and 400m. Tibbs also won silver in the men’s T44 long jump with a leap of 6.12 meters/20 feet 1 inch. In addition to his athletic agenda, Tibbs, 26, is a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, for which he has served since 1999. He currently works at the Naval Medical Center, mentoring amputees returning from the conflict in Iraq. He splits time between the Medical Center and the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, where he is part of the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Residence Program.
Dean Karnazes, the “Ultramarathon Man” was awarded the ESPY for his extensive 2006 accomplishment; ranging from completing 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days (known as the “Endurance 50″) to winning the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run.
Karnazes’ other achievements include: Winner, Dead President’s Ultra, 2007; Completed 50 marathons, 50 states, 50 days, then ran 1,300 miles from New York City to St. Louis as a cool down, 2006; Winner, Vermont Trail 100, 2006; Winner, Badwater Ultramarathon: The World’s Toughest Footrace, 2004; Winner, Outdoor World Championships, 2000; Eleven-time Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run Silver Buckle holder; Six-time finisher of the Saturn Relay ultra division (199 miles nonstop solo); First and only person to run a marathon to the South Pole in running shoes; Competed more than 100 extreme endurance events around the globe; and Member of the American Ultrarunning Team representing the United States at the 2005 World Championships.
The ESPY Awards are an annual sports awards event created and broadcast by ESPN. Started in 1993, the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards honor individual, team athletic achievement and other sports-related performances during the previous calendar year. The 2007 ESPY Awards were hosted by LeBron James and Jimmy Kimmel.
For more information on the 2007 ESPY Awards, visit: www.espn.go.com/espy2007/.
Article written by and via: Adam Jacobs (TheFinalSprint.com), Tom Surber (USA Track & Field), and Accelerade.
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Tags: accelerade, active duty, adam jacobs, allyson felix, Best Outdoor Athlete, Best Track & Field Athletes, Casey Tibbs, Dead Presidents Ultra, Dean Karnazes, Endurance 50, ESPN, ESPY Awards, ESPYs, Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, IPC Athletics World Championships, Jeremy Wariner, Jimmy Kimmel, LeBron James, lower leg amputee, military, Paralympic Games, pentathlon, petty officer, sanya richards, T44, TheFinalSprint.com, Tom Surber, tyson gay, U.S. Navy, U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Residence Program, USA Track & Field, usatf, Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run
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The Final Sprint
[…] He also rubs a lot of people in the ultramarathon community the wrong way. His often blatant self-promotion gets on a lot of people’s nerves, and even Karnazes himself will be the first to admit that there are people out there that are much better than him at some (or even most) of the events that he competes in or stages. He recently won an ESPY award for Best Outdoor Athlete for his accomplishments in 2006. A lot of people will mumble, mutter, or yell about how they aren’t very impressed. Dean may have run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, but Sam Thompson ran his 50 marathons months before Dean did and did it with less support and on a smaller budget. He may have won the Vermont 100 Trail Race, but Scott Jurek wins just about any endurance event that he competes in and regularly wipes the floor with Dean when they compete against each other. […]
August 6th, 2007 at 9:35 pm