Vail resident Lindsey Vonn, whose powerful skiing style earned her international acclaim and two overall World Cup skiing titles, was named Tuesday as the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame’s 2009 athlete of the year.
University of Colorado track star Jenny Barringer was named the female collegiate athlete of the year and Air Force Falcons hockey forward Jacques Lamoureux was named the top male collegiate athlete.
The trio will be honored at an April 20 banquet along with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2010. Those inductees are Mike Shanahan, Joe Sakic, Marc Johnson, Larry Zimmer, Dean Lahr and Bob Blasi.
The Hall of Fame’s selection committee picked Vonn because of her dominating 2009 season. She captured her second consecutive overall women’s World Cup Championship and also skied to two gold medals in the World Championships.
Barringer repeated as the NCAA champion in the 3,000-meter steeple chase, setting an American record. She set six NCAA Records and seven CU records — all in 2009. She also ran the fastest time in the mile in the world for the 2009 season (4:25.91) en route to winning her first Big 12 Indoor title.
Barringer became the eighth-fastest woman in the world in the steeplechase with her American record of 9:12.50 at the IAAF World Championships where she placed fifth.
Lamoureux led the Falcons in scoring with 53 points and was a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker award. With Lamoureux in command, Air Force advanced to the NCAA eastern regional finals. He led the Falcons in scoring with 33 goals and 20 assists, and led the the nation in goals per game (0.80), power play goals (15) and game-winners (nine).
Other selections Tuesday were Bryan Peters (Rocky Mountain High School) and Shelby Babcock (Legacy High School) as the high school male and female athletes of the year, respectively. TJ Trump will receive the 2009 Disabled Athlete Recognition Award.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
