Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Ledecky Nominated for Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award
After racking up four gold medals at the 2022 FINA World Championships, Katie Ledecky has been nominated for the 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards Sportswoman of the Year honor, Laureus announced Monday.
Ledecky, who has been nominated for the award five times, is looking to join an elite list of Laureus Sportswoman of the Year winners that includes the likes of Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams and more. Should Ledecky win, she would become just the second female American swimmer — joining Missy Franklin in 2014 — to win the coveted title.
Her 2022 season was nothing short of remarkable. Her marquee performance came in her signature 800-meter freestyle at last year’s FINA World Championships in Budapest. She won the race by more than 10 seconds, becoming the first female to ever win five-consecutive titles in an event. Her 800 free performance was good for the 2022 Golden Goggle Awards Female Race of the Year award.
She would go on to add three additional golds in Budapest and would later cap off the year with six FINA Swimming World Cup titles and two short course meter world records. Her jaw-dropping performances in 2022 have resulted in two ESPY awards, three Golden Goggle Awards and the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Award.
The Laureus Sportswoman of the Year will be decided later this spring by 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which includes Olympians, record holders and more. The ballot also features Alexia Putellas (soccer, Spain); Iga Świątek (tennis, Poland), Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing, United States), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (track & field, Jamaica) and Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (track & field, United States).
Ledecky, who has been nominated for the award five times, is looking to join an elite list of Laureus Sportswoman of the Year winners that includes the likes of Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams and more. Should Ledecky win, she would become just the second female American swimmer — joining Missy Franklin in 2014 — to win the coveted title.
Her 2022 season was nothing short of remarkable. Her marquee performance came in her signature 800-meter freestyle at last year’s FINA World Championships in Budapest. She won the race by more than 10 seconds, becoming the first female to ever win five-consecutive titles in an event. Her 800 free performance was good for the 2022 Golden Goggle Awards Female Race of the Year award.
She would go on to add three additional golds in Budapest and would later cap off the year with six FINA Swimming World Cup titles and two short course meter world records. Her jaw-dropping performances in 2022 have resulted in two ESPY awards, three Golden Goggle Awards and the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Award.
The Laureus Sportswoman of the Year will be decided later this spring by 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which includes Olympians, record holders and more. The ballot also features Alexia Putellas (soccer, Spain); Iga Świątek (tennis, Poland), Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing, United States), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (track & field, Jamaica) and Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (track & field, United States).