For their great sportsmanship and remarkable athletic accomplishments, the AAU nominated some world-class athletes for the 94th Annual James E. Sullivan Award. The AAU Sullivan Award is given to the best American collegiate and Olympic athletes. Since 1930, AAU has been appreciating outstanding athletes every year. The AAU Sullivan Award acknowledges only those athletes who have demonstrated high moral character and go well beyond athletic achievement.

Among the 30 semifinalists from a range of Olympic and collegiate sports, women’s freestyle wrestling stars Adeline Gray and Amit Elor are the two most dominating wrestling stars who have been nominated for this esteemed award. Besides that, AAU has also recognized the noticeable accomplishments of the Olympic champion David Taylor, in men’s freestyle wrestling.

Semifinalists from USA wrestling for the AAU Sullivan Award

USA Wrestling took to its official X handle to announce the great news, captioning the post “Wrestling stars @AdelineGray, @AmitElor & @magicman_psu are among the 30 semifinalists for the #AAUSullivanAward, given to the nation’s top athlete.” Apart from that, thrilling the wrestling stars’ fans, they also posted the details of the voting. The post caption further reads “Fans can vote daily online through Feb. 21. Let’s support our wrestlers!!!”.

By pushing the buzzer online by Wednesday, February 21, fans can help their beloved wrestler to have a great AAU James E. Sullivan Award. The winner of this award will be declared based on the highest votes, as one of the best athletes will clinch this estimable award from the list of 30 semifinalists.

The inclusion of David Taylor, Amit Elor, and Adeline Gray is indeed flattering for the wrestling community, since only five wrestlers have ever achieved the prestigious honor of winning this award. They are John Smith (1990), Bruce Baumgartner (1995), Rulon Gardner (2000), Kyle Snyder (2017), and Spencer Lee (2019). It once again turns the limelight into their storied careers.

A recognition of the staunch talents

David Taylor clinched the 2023 Senior World Championship title in 86kg in an incredible display of talent and power. He pinned 3x World champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran in just 5:57. Apart from that, he also astonished his fans in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by winning the gold medal. And now, Olympic wrestling gold medalist Taylor is gearing up to defend his medal in Paris. The women wrestlers on the list are also nothing short of extraordinary.

Read More: Olympic Champion David Taylor Opens Up About His Thoughts on the Untouchable Penn State Wrestling Squad

Adeline Gray, a six-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist, is yet another phenom who returned from having twins last year. And, post her return, she took her spot on the U.S. wrestling team and stunned the world with a bronze at the 2023 world championship. The limelight also shines bright on rising sensation Amit Elor.

Amit Elor made a successful senior-level debut at 68 kg at the 2024 Pan Am Qualifier Wrestle-Off this year. Apart from that, at a mere 20 years of age, Elor has a crazy record of having a world title in different weight classes. Taking all those together, she has eight titles in her kitty. It remains to be seen whether the wrestlers grabs this award to boost their contention for the upcoming Olympics.

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