Serena wins Athlete of the Month
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning won the United States Sports Academy’s January Male Athlete of the Month award while American tennis star Serena Williams earned the Academy’s Female Athlete of the Month honor for January.
[snip]Also in January, Serena Williams won her eighth and most improbable Grand Slam title, overwhelming top-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open. Williams became only the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the Open era. It was her first title in 15 tournaments since winning the 2005 Australian Open.
Williams finished ahead of American swimmer Natalie Coughlin, who finished second in the balloting, and Austrian downhill skier Renate Goetschl. Coughlin lowered her own 4-year-old American record in the 200-yard freestyle at the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming. Goetschl won her third straight downhill and moved atop the overall World Cup standings. It was the second win in two days for Goetschl, who also won a super-G. Sports Features