Swimmer Erin Popovich was named the sportswoman of the year on Sunday night at the 35th annual Sportswomen of Colorado awards banquet at the Denver Tech Center Marriott.
Popovich, a Fort Collins resident who trains at Colorado State, captured four gold medals and two silver medals at the Paralympics in Beijing in August.
The keynote speaker was 2008 Olympic marathon gold medalist Constantina Dita. Growing up in a Romanian village, she was inspired to run by the 1984 women’s Olympic marathon. She began training in Colorado in 2001 and moved to the state in 2005.
“The people of Colorado understand and support the lifestyle of sportswomen and sportsmen, even if they are not world-class,” she said.
Among the highlights of the presentation by Jim Conrad and Marcia Neville: a tribute to sportswriter Scott Stocker; the appearance of two dozen of coach Tony Wells’ track and field athletes to help him accept his Legacy Award; the roaring reception for Suzie Chaffee, the Aspen resident and former University of Denver skier who developed ski ballet, the precursor to freestyle skiing, and was instrumental in the enactment of Title IX, the legislation that gave female athletes opportunities and resources.
Theresa Smith, Special to The Denver Post
Weems, 14ers defeat Albuquerque.
Sonny Weems scored 30 points and Josh Davis contributed 27 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Colorado 14ers over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds 113-108 in an NBA D-League game Sunday in Albuquerque.
Davis made the go-ahead basket with 48 seconds to play, and teammate Dominique Coleman scored four of his 16 points during the final 35 seconds. Weems hit 14-of-26 shots, helping the 14ers improve to 23-10.
