United States Olympic & Paralympic Endowment announces 2024 award winners
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Endowment Wednesday announced the recipients of its three awards that will be presented during the annual awards ceremony on Friday, Dec. 6 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.
Cindy Parlow Cone and Brad Snyder will be the recipients of the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award; Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir will be recognized with the William E. Simon Award; Dr. David Weinstein will be the honoree of the General Douglas MacArthur Award. Each of these individuals will be honored for their commitment and contributions to the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
Cindy Parlow Cone, a trailblazer in American soccer, lays claim to an illustrious career that includes being part of the legendary 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup championship team, two Olympic gold medal teams, and being inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Consistently breaking barriers, Cone made history as the first woman to be elected U.S. Soccer President, bringing with her over two decades of invaluable experience. Her executive track record includes revenue and profit growth, increased stakeholder engagement, large infrastructure build, union negotiations and thought leadership.
Brad Snyder began his professional career as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, having graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in Naval Architecture. Snyder was severely injured by the explosion of an improvised explosive device sustaining complete vision loss. As a part of his rehabilitation process, Snyder began swimming again, and after a few months of training, earned a spot on the U.S. Paralympic National Team.
At the Paralympic Games London 2012, he competed in seven events, earning two gold medals and one silver medal. Snyder medically retired from Naval service in 2013, and three years later returned to the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he earned three gold medals, one silver medal, and broke a world record that had stood for over 30 years. After Rio, Snyder switched sports to triathlon and won gold for Team USA at Tokyo 2020.
Tara Lipinski won over the world’s hearts when she earned the gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998 at the age of 15, earning her the distinction as the youngest individual gold medalist ever in Olympic Winter Games history. She is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, a two-time Grand Prix final champion and is the first woman to ever complete a triple loop-triple loop combination in competition, a signature element of her performances.
Lipinski is a figure skating analyst for NBC, working on its coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, world championships, the International Skating Union Grand Prix Series and NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Olympic Winter Games and Olympic Games.
Johnny Weir is a renowned figure in the world of figure skating and entertainment. A two-time U.S. Olympian and three-time national champion, he also claimed the bronze medal at the 2008 world championships and twice earned bronze at the Grand Prix final. Additionally, Weir was the 2001 World Junior Figure Skating Championships winner.
Beyond the rink, he serves as NBC’s lead figure skating commentator, an ambassador to the Olympic Winter Games, and a cultural and fashion icon. Weir also owns and operates the Johnny Weir Skating Academy, nurturing elite skaters from around the globe.
Dr. David Weinstein practices shoulder and elbow surgery and sports medicine in Colorado Springs, Colo. and is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado. Dr. Weinstein is the orthopedic consultant at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs since 1995. He has spent countless hours providing orthopedic care for numerous athletes including not only Olympic and Paralympic athletes but many youth and developmental athletes as well.
Dr. Weinstein has been to nine Olympic and Paralympic Games and served in many different roles on the medical staff for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams. Additionally, he has provided international medical support for USA Wrestling, USA Basketball and USA Volleyball.
The USOPE was established by the USOPC in 1984 to administer and invest the corpus of endowed funds that resulted from the surplus of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. A nonprofit organization, its objective is to support the USOPC and its member organizations, with the overall aim of enhancing Olympic and Paralympic sports in the United States. The USOPE’s net assets have grown to approximately $250 million, while awarding grants to the USOPC and its member organizations totaling $386 million over the last 40 years.
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