Friday, October 28, 2022
Ledecky Nominated for 92nd Annual AAU James E. Sullivan Award
The Amateur Athletic Union recently opened its voting for the 92nd Annual James E. Sullivan award, a prestigious honor that is given to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Among the nominees on the 2022 ballot is U.S. National Team member Katie Ledecky, who earns the recognition after being named "Female Swimmer of the Meet" at the 2022 FINA World Championships, where she tallied four gold medals.
Her dominant showing in Budapest this past June started the meet off with the 400-meter freestyle, where she won gold in a meet-record time of 3:58.34. The swim wasn't the only record-breaking performance she had in Budapest, as she helped the U.S.' 4x200m freestyle relay to a meet-record time of 7:41.45. Her additional two golds came in the 800- and 1500m freestyle events, where she went 8:08.04 and 15:30.15, respectively.
With her showing this summer, Ledecky surpassed Natalie Coughlin as the most decorated female athlete ever at the FINA World Championships, bringing her career world championships total to 22.
This year's nominee list also features: Aliyah Boston (basketball); Allyson Felix (track and field); Athing Mu (track and field); Bryce Young (football); Carissa Moore (surfing); Chloe Kim (snowboarding); Elana Meyers Taylor (bobsled); Erin Jackson (speed skating); Ivan Melendez (baseball); Jaime Jaquez Jr. (basketball); Jocelyn Alo (softball); Jordan Burroughs (wrestling); Kaillie Humphries (bobsled); Logan Wisnauskas (lacrosse); Maddie Musselman (water polo); Nathan Chen (figure skating); Sophie Jaques (ice hockey); and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (track and field).
Fans can vote once a day from now until Wednesday, November 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Cast your vote here!
Her dominant showing in Budapest this past June started the meet off with the 400-meter freestyle, where she won gold in a meet-record time of 3:58.34. The swim wasn't the only record-breaking performance she had in Budapest, as she helped the U.S.' 4x200m freestyle relay to a meet-record time of 7:41.45. Her additional two golds came in the 800- and 1500m freestyle events, where she went 8:08.04 and 15:30.15, respectively.
With her showing this summer, Ledecky surpassed Natalie Coughlin as the most decorated female athlete ever at the FINA World Championships, bringing her career world championships total to 22.
The AAU James E. Sullivan Award has been won by some of the most renowned athletes in sports history, including Peyton Manning, Michelle Kwan, Michael Johnson, Sabrina Ianescu and, most recently, Caeleb Dressel. Should Ledecky receive the honor, she would join a list of 13 other swimmers to win the award:
- 1944: Ann Curtis
- 1964: Don Schollander
- 1968: Debbie Meyer
- 1970: John Kinsella
- 1971: Mark Spitz
- 1975: Tim Shaw
- 1977: John Naber
- 1978: Tracy Caulkins
- 1989: Janet Evans
- 2003: Michael Phelps
- 2006: Jessica Long
- 2012: Missy Franklin
- 2021: Caeleb Dressel (co-recipient with gymnastics' Simone Biles)
This year's nominee list also features: Aliyah Boston (basketball); Allyson Felix (track and field); Athing Mu (track and field); Bryce Young (football); Carissa Moore (surfing); Chloe Kim (snowboarding); Elana Meyers Taylor (bobsled); Erin Jackson (speed skating); Ivan Melendez (baseball); Jaime Jaquez Jr. (basketball); Jocelyn Alo (softball); Jordan Burroughs (wrestling); Kaillie Humphries (bobsled); Logan Wisnauskas (lacrosse); Maddie Musselman (water polo); Nathan Chen (figure skating); Sophie Jaques (ice hockey); and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (track and field).
Fans can vote once a day from now until Wednesday, November 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Cast your vote here!