USOC present six annual awards at 2015 Olympic and Paralympic Assembly

Trey McDonald and Miles Gould were given the Jack Kelly Fair Play award ©Twitter/USA Archery

Six awards were presented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) at a celebratory dinner at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs, which brought the 2015 U.S Olympic and Paralympic Assembly to a close.

The dinner was hosted by NBC anchor and correspondent Carolyn Manno and also featured Hall of Fame basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski as a keynote speaker.

Anne Warner Cribbs, a gold medallist in swimming at the Rome 1960 Olympics, was presented with the Olympic Torch Award which recognises an individual who has positively impacted the movement by promoting Olympic ideals.

The 70-year-old was honoured as a result of her dedication to advancing sport and boosting opportunities for young people in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as co-founding the American Basketball League.

Additionally, Cribbs also became the first woman to lead an American Olympic bid with San Francisco 2012, while she acted as a former vice-president of the U.S Olympians and Paralympians Association where she played a key role in developing their alumni association in northern California.

Archers Miles Gould and Trey McDonald were presented with the Jack Kelly Fair Play Award, named after the former USOC President, which seeks to recognise an act of outstanding sportsmanship by either an athlete, coach or official.

The pair were honoured following their behaviour at the Easton Junior Olympic Archery Development National Championships where, in an elimination round, Gould mistakenly shot at the wrong target which granted his rival the victory.

However, rather than accepting the win, McDonald requested a one-arrow shoot off.

The dinner brought the 2015 U.S Olympic and Paralympic Assembly to a close ©Twitter/U.S Olympic Team

Gould eventually emerged as the victor but recognised his fellow competitor’s fairness and opted to grant him the win as a result of his gesture.

The individual Rings of Gold award, which aims to recognise someone who is helping children to realise an Olympic or Paralympic ambition, was awarded to 2014 Paralympic snowcross bronze medallist Amy Purdy who established the organisation Adaptive Action Sports to help individuals with disabilities to take up either snowboarding or skateboarding.

Meanwhile, Figure Skating in Harlem, a foundation established by Sharon Cohen in 1997, was awarded the Rings of Gold program award for their work in seeking to provide academic, social and physical advancement for girls regardless of their background as well as helping them achieve their sporting ambitions.

USA Fencing and USRowing were the final winners on the night with the former given the Advancing Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Award for being the national governing body with the highest annual growth in increasing diversity.

USRowing were given the D&I Choice Award for their nitiative “American Rows” which helped to increase opportunities for underrepresented youth and the disabled.