Track and field fans now have the opportunity to vote their favorite Olympic athletes and coaches into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2006. Among the finalists for the Class of 2006 are track athletes Evelyn Ashford, Joan Benoit, Valerie Brisco, Bob Hayes and Roger Kingdom, and coaches Bill Bowerman and Ed Temple.

The United States Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced the finalists from all sports for the Class of 2006 and invited the public to vote online at www.usolympicteam.com to help determine who will comprise the next class of inductees.

Five individual Olympians, one Olympic team, one Paralympian and one coach, along with a veteran and a special contributor, will be honored during the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Presented by Allstate.

Track & field accounts for five of the 15 individual athlete finalists; two of the five team finalists; two of the five coach finalists; and three of the six Paralympian finalists.

Track & field nominees for the Olympic Hall of Fame include:

Individual Finalists

Evelyn Ashford: 4-time Olympian; 1984 100m (Olympic record) and 4x100m gold medalist; 1988 4x100m gold medalist and 100m silver medalist; 1992 4x100m gold medalist

Joan Benoit: Broke new ground as winner of first Olympic women's marathon in 1984, held American record in marathon from 1985-2003

Valerie Brisco: triple Olympic gold medalist in 1984, setting Olympic records in the 200 and 400 and winning the 4x400m relay; won silver in 4x400 relay 1988

"Bullet" Bob Hayes: gold at 1964 Olympic 100m and 4x100m, setting world records in both

Roger Kingdom: gold medalist in 1984, 1988, setting Olympic records both times

Team Finalists

1968 Men's Track & Field 4x400m Relay: Vince Matthews, Ron Freeman, Larry James and Lee Evans ran 2:56.1 to set a world record that stood until the U.S. Olympic Team tied it in 1988.

1988 Women's Track & Field 4x100m Relay: Alice Brown, Sheila Echols, Florence Griffith Joyner, Evelyn Ashford ran 41.98 to defeat the East Germans and Soviets.

Coach Finalists

Bill Bowerman - 1972 Olympic head coach, he was individual coach of 23 Olympic athletes, including bronze medalist Bill Dellinger.

Ed Temple - Women's Olympic coach in 1960 and '64 and assistant coach in 1980, he also coached the Tennessee State Tigerbelles. Tigerbelle athletes won 23 Olympic medals, 13 of them gold.

Paralympian Finalists

Ross Davis: three-time Paralympian with nine medals

Jean Driscoll: Won 12 Paralympic medals as wheelchair racer

Dennis Oehler: Three-time Paralympian with seven medals

The Class of 2006 induction ceremony will take place December 8 in Chicago, Ill. at the Harris Theatre and will again feature an awards-style show.

Additionally, a nationally televised special will air early in 2006 to enable sports fans across the United States to relive the moments that catapulted the Class of 2006 inductees to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame status. Broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

The Class of 2006 finalists in the individual sport/event, team, Paralympic and coaching categories were selected by a nominating committee consisting of athletes, members of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, historians and USOC representatives. The committee also selected the individuals to be honored in the veteran and special contributor categories. Their names will be announced in October along with those of the other inductees.

Public voting begins today, August 17, and will continue through September 21 at www.usolympicteam.com. Brief biographies of each of the finalists can also be found on the website.

The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to celebrate the achievements of America's premier athletes in the modern Olympic Games. To date, 182 athletes (including six U.S. teams) and special contributors to the U.S. Olympic Movement have been enshrined.

The first U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1983 during ceremonies in Chicago. That Charter Class, which included Olympic greats Jesse Owens, Jim Thorpe and Muhammad Ali, remains the largest group (20 individuals and one team) ever inducted. In 2004, after a 12-year hiatus, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was revived through the support of the Allstate Insurance Company as the presenting sponsor. Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner were among the athletes inducted in 2004.