A two-time Olympian, three-time International Triathlon Union World Cup winner and five-time U.S. pro champion, Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) is the first U.S. male to finish the season No. 1 in both the world and the ITU World Cup rankings. He secured the No. 1 world ranking with a fourth place finish at the New Plymouth World Cup in New Zealand in November.  Along the way he reached the podium in 10 out of 13 international races, including five first-place finishes, and five out of seven times in World Cup races.   He also won the U.S. Elite National Championship.  In September, he won in a sprint finish at the Beijing World Cup on the 2008 Olympic course. 

Training at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the same club that produced Olympian Michael Phelps, 16-year-old Olympian Hoff (Towson, Md.) earned three gold medals at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, winning the 200m IM, 400m IM and 800m free relay.  She set an American record in the 200m IM and won the 400m IM and 800m free relay in world championship-record time.  Her American-record swim in the 200m IM was the second-fastest performance of all time.  In the 800m free relay, she turned in one of the top-20 fastest splits in history.  Hoff won three National titles in the 200m free, 200m IM (American record) and 400m IM at World Championship Trials and finished the year ranked first in the 200m and 400m IM.  She finished fourth in the 100m free and 100m fly, seventh in the 400m medley relay, and eighth in the 50m free at ConocoPhillips National Championships while winning the 200m and 400m IM at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool and finished third in the 200m free.  At the Mutual of Omaha Duel she set the U.S. Open record in the 400m IM.  In addition to success in the pool, Hoff signed a deal with Speedo for the longest athlete contract in the brand's history, running through the 2016 Olympic Games.  She also was the big winner at the 2005 Golden Goggle Awards, USA Swimming's annual year-end gala, taking home two awards in the Female Athlete of the Year category and Relay Performance of the Year.

At the 2005 World Badminton Championships, Gunawan (Fullerton, Calif.) and Bach (San Francisco, Calif.) won a surprise gold medal in men's doubles, the first-ever medal won by the U.S. in a world championship or Olympic competition.  The 13th-seeded American men's doubles team defeated the Indonesian team 15-11, 10-15, 15-11 in the finals after being down 11-9 in the final game.  The win was the culmination of a history-making week, as never before had the U.S. advanced, in singles or doubles, to the quarterfinals or won a medal in Olympic or World competition.  On their way to earning the title, Gunawan and Bach had to defeat the No. 8-, No. 1-, No. 4- and No. 2- ranked teams in the world on successive nights.   Bach competed in the 2004 Olympic Games with a different partner while Gunawan won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games, competing for Indonesia.  In the final match, Gunawan was playing against his former partner whom he had won the gold medal with five years ago. 

Disabled alpine skier Stephens (Wenham, Mass.) was unstoppable in 2005.  She swept all World Cup titles (overall, SG, GS, SL), ending the season with 10 World Cup victories, including five top-three's, in just 16 races.  Stephens was unbeaten in giant slalom for the second consecutive year, proving that her 2004 overall and giant slalom championships as a rookie were no fluke.  The reigning World Cup Overall champion, Stephens captured two consecutive wins Dec. 8-9 in giant slalom at The Hartford Ski Spectacular.  In addition to her elite athletic pursuits, Stephens is a full-time student at the University of New Hampshire where she is majoring in therapeutic recreation.  She also works with U.S. Paralympics founding sponsor, The Hartford, helping to raise public awareness of what people with a physical disability can achieve in all aspects of life.  Skiing is not the only sport in which Stephens excelled.  Although she is no longer a competitive swimmer, she currently holds two American records for disabled swimming in the 100m and 200m backstroke.  Swimming was a sport Stephens participated in simply for fun.  At the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, Stephens led the way for Team USA, as well as giving herself a great start to claim back-to-back honors in 2006, as she won two gold medals and one silver.
 
Kemper is the first male or female triathlete to be selected as the SportsMan or SportsWoman of the Year.  Hoff is the eighth swimmer to be awarded the USOC SportsWoman of the Year honor, joining Shirley Babashoff (1974), Kathy Heddy (1975), Tracy Caulkins (1979, 1984), Cynthia Woodhead (1979), Janet Evans (1989), Amy Van Dyken (1996) and Jenny Thompson (1999).  It is the first time for a badminton duo to win Team of the Year accolades.
 
The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1974 to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations.   The team award was added in 1996 and the Paralympian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 2004.  Winners are selected from the individual female and male Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year nominations of the National Governing Bodies for the Olympic, Pan American, Affiliated and Disabled Sports Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

All-time USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year honorees include:

SportsMan of the Year
1974 - Jim Bolding, Athletics
1975 - Clinton Jackson, Boxing
1976 - John Naber, Swimming
1977 - Eric Heiden, Speedskating
1978 - Bruce Davidson, Equestrian
1979 - Eric Heiden, Speedskating
1980 - Eric Heiden, Speedskating
1981 - Scott Hamilton, Figure Skating
1982 - Greg Louganis, Diving
1983 - Rick McKinney, Archery
1984 - Edwin Moses, Athletics
1985 - Willie Banks, Athletics
1986 - Matt Biondi, Swimming
1987 - Greg Louganis, Diving
1988 - Matt Biondi, Swimming
1989 - Roger Kingdom, Athletics
1990 - John Smith, Wrestling
1991 - Carl Lewis, Athletics
1992 - Pablo Morales, Swimming
1993 - Michael Johnson, Athletics
1994 - Dan Jansen, Speedskating
1995 - Michael Johnson, Athletics
1996 - Michael Johnson Athletics
1997 - Pete Sampras, Tennis
1998 - Jonny Moseley, Skiing
1999 - Lance Armstrong, Cycling
2000 - Rulon Gardner, Wrestling
2001 - Lance Armstrong, Cycling
2002 - Lance Armstrong, Cycling
2003 - Lance Armstrong, Cycling
2004 - Michael Phelps, Swimming
2005 - Hunter Kemper, Triathlon

SportsWoman of the Year
1974 - Shirley Babashoff, Swimming
1975 - Kathy Heddy, Swimming
1976 - Sheila Young, Speedskating
1977 - Linda Fratianne, Figure Skating
1978 -- Tracy Caulkins, Swimming
1979 - Cynthia "Sippy" Woodhead, Swimming
1980 - Beth Heiden, Speedskating
1981 - Sheila Young Ochowicz, Cycling/Speedskating
1982 - Melanie Smith, Equestrian
1983 - Tamara McKinney, Skiing
1984 - Tracy Caulkins, Swimming
1985 - Mary Decker Slaney, Athletics
1986 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Athletics
1987 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Athletics
1988 - Florence Griffith Joyner, Athletics
1989 - Janet Evans, Swimming
1990 - Lynn Jennings, Athletics
1991 - Kim Zmeskal, Gymnastics
1992 - Bonnie Blair, Speedskating
1993 - Gail Devers, Athletics
1994 - Bonnie Blair, Speedskating
1995 - Picabo Street, Skiing
1996 - Amy Van Dyken, Swimming
1997 - Tara Lipinski, Figure Skating
1998 - Picabo Street, Skiing
1999 - Jenny Thompson, Swimming
2000 - Marion Jones, Athletics
2001 - Jennifer Capriati, Tennis
2002 - Sarah Hughes, Figure Skating
2003 - Michelle Kwan, Figure Skating
2004 - Carly Patterson, Gymnastics
2005 - Katie Hoff, Swimming

Team of the Year
1996 - Women's National/Olympic Basketball Team
1997 - Women's National Soccer Team
1998 - Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team
1999 - Women's National Soccer Team
2000 - USA Baseball Olympic Team
2001 - U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team
2002 - Women's Bobsled Team
2003 - Women's Gymnastics Team
2004 - U.S. Olympic Softball Team
2005 - Men's Badminton Doubles Team

Paralympian of the Year
2004 - Erin Popovich, Swimmer
2005 - Laurie Stephens, Alpine Skier

For more information, please contact the USOC Media and Public Relations Division (719/866-4529).  This release also is available on the USOC's public web site (www.usolympicteam.com) and our media-specific web site (www.usocpressbox.org).