Two-time Olympic gold medalist, Mariel Zagunis ’03, was honored Sunday, Jan. 31 at The 58th Annual Oregon Sports Awards at the Nike World Campus in Beaverton. Mariel, who won gold in women’s saber fencing at the Athens Olympics in 2006 and at Beijing in 2010, took home Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year award for women at the sold-out event.

Trail Blazers guard Roy took the Harry Glickman professional athlete honor for men for the third consecutive year. Other winners included Heisman Trophy finalist and Ndamukong Suh who won the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete award for men, and Paul Allen, who is in his 21st year as owner of the Trail Blazers, who won the Merit award for longtime service.

The two-hour event at the Tiger Woods Center honors the Oregon’s top athletes, coaches and teams for their performances in 2009 or lifetime achievements. Bill Schonely, the Portland Trail Blazers’ founding broadcaster/ambassador, served as show ambassador.
Featured categories include the Bill Hayward Amateur Athletes of the Year (male and female), the Harry Glickman Professional Athletes of the Year (male and female) and the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year.

The Oregon Sports Awards began in 1948 as the Hayward Banquet of Champions. The event was discontinued after 1996 but returned in 2002 and has been held as the Oregon Sports Awards for the past nine years, with a new, stage-show format and many added award categories. The event is sponsored by Nike, the Portland Tribune, Comcast SportsNet, Les Schwab Tires, Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors, Portland Trail Blazers, Dick’s Sporting Goods and SportsOne.

Posted by Thomas Kohler in Alumni News