Katie Hoff was named SportsWoman of the Year in 2005 and has had another big year in 2007, including a triple-gold showing at the 2007 World Championships and a solid performance at the 2007 Conoco Phillips National Championships. In all, she earned a total of 11 medals in 2007, eight of them gold. She kicked off her appearance at Worlds in March with her first individual world record and a gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley. She also anchored the world record-setting 800-meter free relay team in Melbourne and collected her third gold in the 200-meter individual medley. In July, Hoff added three national titles to her list of 2007 accomplishments. She now holds nine career national titles.
The recipients of the Outstanding Performance of the Year award were selected by the USOC's Chief Executive Officer, Chief of Sport Performance and Chief Communications Officer after a review of all of the significant performances during the past year. For 2007, the USOC leaders selected swimming athlete Michael Phelps as the male recipient for his world championships accomplishments. At the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Phelps competed in seven events where he won gold in all. He was a part of the 400m free relay and 800m free gold medal-winning relay teams and was crowned champion of the 200m free, 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM and 400m IM individual events. Phelps outstanding performance at the World Championships included setting four individual world records and one team world record. As a result of his performance, Phelps became the winningest athlete in World Championship's history.