BATON ROUGE – Online voting has opened for USA Track & Field’s Fan’s Choice Awards for 2013 as former Lady Tiger sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan is among five nominees for the “Underdog Performance of the Year” after taking the USA Outdoor title in the women’s 200 meters over reigning Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix during the summer.
Fans can cast their vote for Duncan as winner of the “Underdog Performance of the Year” through the Sunday, Dec. 1, deadline on USA Track & Field’s official website at ¬ http://bit.ly/1b8PsXa.
Arguably the most dominant 200-meter sprinter in collegiate history, Duncan made the most of her professional debut at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, when she sprinted to the finish line in a wind-aided 21.80 seconds to take the 200-meter title ahead of Felix’s 21.85 with the sixth-fastest time in history under all conditions.
With her performance, Duncan earned the right to represent the United States on the international stage for the first time with her debut at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia.
USA Track & Field’s website says of Duncan’s nomination, “Duncan had previously won three-straight NCAA Outdoor titles in the 200m for LSU. At the USA Outdoor Championships, Duncan went up against three-time World Champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix. Undaunted, Duncan raced to victory in a wind-aided 21.80 seconds, the sixth-fastest time ever run under all conditions.”
The second-annual USA Track & Field’s Fan’s Choice Awards will be presented Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in conjunction with the 2013 USATF Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.