Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award

The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award (sometimes called the Outstanding Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award) is an annual award honoring the achievements of an athlete from the world of disabled sports.^[1] It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards at the 2002 edition as part of the ceremony's tenth anniversary of its establishment.^[2] The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan,^[3] was presented to the disabled sportsperson adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.^[1] For the 2004 ceremony, the winner was chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.^[4] Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts.^[5] Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.^{[lower-alpha 1][6]}

Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award
Awarded for	best disabled athlete
Location	Los Angeles (2004)
Presented by	ESPN
First awarded	2002
Last awarded	2024
Currently held by	Brenna Huckaby (USA)
Website	www.espn.co.uk/espys/

The inaugural winner of the Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award at the 2002 edition was mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer who has a total visual impairment and he became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 2001.^[2][7] He is one of three people to have won the award during its three-year history; sprinter Marlon Shirley won the accolade at the 2003 ceremony for becoming the first amputee in history to set a time below eleven seconds in the men's 100 metres at the Utah Summer Games,^[8] and Kyle Maynard was voted the winner of the award in the 2004 iteration because of his strong form in freestyle wrestling in high school despite being born with congenital amputation that resulted in the shortening of all his limbs.^[9] The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was discontinued and bifurcated by gender in 2005 to establish the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award and the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award. The award was reinstated in 2023.^[10]

Winners and nominees

Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award winners and nominees

Year	Image	Athlete	Nationality	Sport	Nominees	Refs
2002		Erik Weihenmayer	USA	Mountain climbing	Stephen Pate ( USA) – Wheelchair rugby Sarah Will ( USA) – Skiing	[2][11]
2003	–	Marlon Shirley	USA	Track and field	Paul Schulte ( USA) – Wheelchair basketball Esther Vergeer ( NED) – Wheelchair tennis	[8][12]
2004		Kyle Maynard	USA	Freestyle wrestling	Cheri Blauwet ( USA) – Wheelchair racing Travis Mohr ( USA) – Swimming Ron Williams ( USA) – Cycling	[9][13]
2023	–	Zach Miller	USA	Snowboarding	Erica McKee ( USA) – Sledge hockey Aaron Pike ( USA) – Wheelchair racing Susannah Scaroni ( USA) – Wheelchair racing	[14]
2024	–	Brenna Huckaby	USA	Snowboarding	Jaydin Blackwell ( USA) – Sprinter Ezra Frech ( USA) – Track and field Oksana Masters ( USA) – Cross-country skiing	[15][16]

See also

• United States Olympic Committee Paralympian of the Year Award
• Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

Notes and references

Notes

1. Because of the rescheduling of the ESPY Awards ceremony, the award presented in 2002 was given in consideration of performance betwixt February 2001 and June 2002.^[6]

References

1. Nelson, Murry R. (2013). American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 399–401. ISBN 978-0-313-39753-0. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
2. Anderson, Marty; Metzler, Tim (September 1, 2002). "ESPY winner (Sports & Recreation)". Paraplegia News. Retrieved October 8, 2018 – via The Free Library.
3. Avard, Christian (August 2, 2013). "Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
4. "The 2004 ESPY Awards - Fans to decide all 2004 ESPY Award winners". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
5. "Committee is newly found". ESPN. February 3, 1999. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
6. "New categories unveiled for The 2002 ESPY Awards" (Press release). ESPN. 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
7. Wolfe, Josh (October 8, 2015). "Trailblazer Erik Weihenmayer Finds Blindness No Barrier To Adventure". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
8. Ojeda, Francisco (July 29, 2003). "Despite a childhood accident, Marlon Shirley seems like he was... ...BORN TO RUN – World's fastest amputee is inspirational". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
9. Morales, Tatiana (December 9, 2004). "The Heart Of A Champion". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
10. "Kyle Maynard wins second ESPY". Gwinnett Daily Post. July 10, 2012. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
11. Meznarich, Paul (June 11, 2002). "Paralympians Nominated For ESPY Award" (Press release). United States Quad Rugby Association. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
12. "The 2003 ESPY Awards – Best Disabled Athlete nominees". ESPN. 2003. Archived from the original on June 4, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
13. "Paralympic Medalist, Travis Mohr, Nominated for ESPY Award: Vote for Him!". Swimming World. June 26, 2004. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
14. Bentley, Leann (July 12, 2023). "Miller Wins ESPY for "Best Athlete with a Disability"". usskiandsnowboard.org. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
15. Bentley, Leann (June 26, 2024). "Huckaby Represents U.S. Ski & Snowboard with 2024 ESPY Nomination". usskiandsnowboard.org. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
16. "2024 ESPYS: Here is the list of winners". ESPN.com. July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.

External links

• Official website