ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Naval Academy graduate and 2021 Paralympic Gold Medalist Brad Snyder is one of the nominees for the Sullivan Award, which is presented annually by the Amateur Athletic Union and awarded to the top amateur athletic in the country.

Snyder, a 2006 graduate of Navy who served as the captain of the swimming team during his senior year, became the first American man to win an individual triathlon event in either the Olympics or Paralympics when he earned the Gold Medal in Tokyo in August.

This was the first time Snyder competed in the triathlon at the Paralympics, but he previously totaled five Gold Medals and seven medals in all in swimming at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games.

The voting format for the 2021 award has been altered from past years.  Snyder is among 38 nominees who have reached the voting round for the award.  A public vote for those nominees began this morning (Monday, Sept. 20) and runs until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 27.  The public vote counts for one-third of the total points toward the award.  Media voting and voting by the Sullivan Award committee each also account for one-third of the points.

Click HERE to vote for the Sullivan Award.

The top vote recipients will be announced as finalists for the award, which will be presented at a luncheon held on October 22.

Navy football player Keenan Reynolds shared the award in 2015.  Additional past recipients over the course of the 90-year award include Bill Walton (basketball, 1973), Eric Heiden (speedskating, 1980), Carl Lewis (track, 1981), Peyton Manning (football, 1997), Michael Phelps (swimming, 2003), Tim Tebow (football, 2007) and Missy Franklin (swimming, 2012).