Monday, August 15, 2022
Ledecky, Long Nominated for Sportswoman of the Year
Katie Ledecky and Jessica Long have been named among the 10 finalists for the Sportswoman of the Year – Individual award presented by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Every year the Women’s Sports Foundation recognizes an individual sport athlete and team sport athlete whose performances over a 12-month time span have been exceptional. This year’s award will be presented during the Annual Salute to Women in Sports on October 12 in New York City.
Ten-time Olympic medalist Ledecky recently surpassed previous Sportswoman of the Year honoree Natalie Coughlin as the most decorated female athlete ever at the FINA World Championships when she added four gold medals to her lifetime haul, bringing her career world championships total to 22. Ledecky was also named FINA Female Swimmer of the Meet during this year’s World Championships.
With four additional medals (two gold and two silver), she became the most decorated female individual gold medalist in Olympic history via her performances in Tokyo. Ledecky won the 800m and 1500m freestyle events, finished second in the 400m freestyle with the fourth-fastest performance all time, and anchored the 4 x 200m freestyle relay to a silver medal and the American record with the fastest split in the entire race (1:53.7).
Ledecky was previously named Sportswoman of the Year in 2017.
Long is the second-most decorated American Paralympian and has 29 Paralympic medals to her credit – six earned at the 2020 Paralympic Games alone. She was also ranked first in the women’s 100m butterfly S8 according to World Para Swimming as of July 2022.
Other swimmers to win Sportswoman of the Year include:
The public and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Awards Committee select the award winners by a 50-50 vote. The winners will be those two athletes (one individual athlete and one team athlete) who receive the highest combined share of a public vote (50% of composite) and the Awards Committee vote (50% of the composite). *
Voting closes on August 22. Fans can vote at https://sportswomanoftheyear.com/ as well as view the full list of finalists.
*Sportswoman of the Year was not awarded in 2020. In 2021, it was selected by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Every year the Women’s Sports Foundation recognizes an individual sport athlete and team sport athlete whose performances over a 12-month time span have been exceptional. This year’s award will be presented during the Annual Salute to Women in Sports on October 12 in New York City.
Ten-time Olympic medalist Ledecky recently surpassed previous Sportswoman of the Year honoree Natalie Coughlin as the most decorated female athlete ever at the FINA World Championships when she added four gold medals to her lifetime haul, bringing her career world championships total to 22. Ledecky was also named FINA Female Swimmer of the Meet during this year’s World Championships.
With four additional medals (two gold and two silver), she became the most decorated female individual gold medalist in Olympic history via her performances in Tokyo. Ledecky won the 800m and 1500m freestyle events, finished second in the 400m freestyle with the fourth-fastest performance all time, and anchored the 4 x 200m freestyle relay to a silver medal and the American record with the fastest split in the entire race (1:53.7).
Ledecky was previously named Sportswoman of the Year in 2017.
Long is the second-most decorated American Paralympian and has 29 Paralympic medals to her credit – six earned at the 2020 Paralympic Games alone. She was also ranked first in the women’s 100m butterfly S8 according to World Para Swimming as of July 2022.
Other swimmers to win Sportswoman of the Year include:
- Missy Franklin (2013)
- Erin Popovich (2005)
- Natalie Coughlin (2003)
- Jenny Thompson (2000)
- Amy Van Dyken (1996)
The public and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Awards Committee select the award winners by a 50-50 vote. The winners will be those two athletes (one individual athlete and one team athlete) who receive the highest combined share of a public vote (50% of composite) and the Awards Committee vote (50% of the composite). *
Voting closes on August 22. Fans can vote at https://sportswomanoftheyear.com/ as well as view the full list of finalists.
*Sportswoman of the Year was not awarded in 2020. In 2021, it was selected by the Women’s Sports Foundation.