Time Inc.

New York - November 12, 2007 - Indianapolis Colts quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning earned the votes of readers on SIKIDS.com and was selected as the 2007 SI Kids Athlete the Year. Appearing on the cover of the December issue of SI Kids with Peyton Manning is the Youth Athlete of the Year, 10-year-old BMXer Brock Heffron from Gilbert, Arizona, it was announced by SI Kids Managing Editor Bob Der.

"More than 21,000 kids voted for the 2007 SI Kids Athlete of the Year. It was our closest vote ever, but Peyton Manning won kids over with the character and determination he showed in leading the Colts to a Super Bowl victory after years of just falling short," said Der. "Kids also chose Brock as our first Youth Athlete of the Year because of his all-around success as a world champion BMX rider and student. We're proud to recognize both of these outstanding athletes and their accomplishments."

This is the first year SI Kids selected a Youth Athlete of the Year to appear on the cover with the Athlete of the Year. Over 6,000 kids applied to be the Youth Athlete of the Year and the editors of SI Kids narrowed it down to six finalists. It was left up to readers on SIKIDS.com to decide the winner and after over 20,000 votes, Heffron came out on top.

In 2007, Heffron became the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Champion and the USA Cycling Champion in his age class. Heffron will travel to China in May to defend his title. Away from the track he is a straight-A student and plays on local football and baseball teams.

The December double issue of SI Kids will be in homes starting today and on newsstands November 20, 2007.