2022 ESPY Awards: Katie Ledecky, Stephen Curry, Shohei Ohtani win major honours-Sports News , Firstpost

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named best male athlete of the year at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday, beating out luminaries including NBA star Stephen Curry and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Swimmer Katie Ledecky won the honour among the women while fending off the challenge of gymnast Sunisa Lee, para-athlete Oksana Masters and WNAB team Chicago Sky’s Candace Parker.

Ledecky, who won four medals at the Tokyo Olympics, also won the Best Olympian award for women. This accolade came ahead of track and field athlete Allyson Felix, Lee and Masters.

Japan’s Ohtani, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, also won the Best Major League Baseball Player trophy over Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Jorge Soler of the Atlanta Braves.

NBA’s Curry hosted the ceremony for the ESPN-created awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood — and took home a couple himself.

Curry won the ESPY for Best NBA Player and for Best Record-Breaking Performance for passing Ray Allen for most three-pointers made in NBA history during the past season.

After he accepted the record-breaking performance statue from actor Simu Liu and skier Lindsey Vonn, Curry quipped that the only reason he wanted to host was that he thought he’d be able to hand the statue to himself.

“Definitely a great honor,” Curry added. “In the same way I looked up to my dad, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, the guys who came before me, all records are meant to be broken, so I know there’s a lot of young kids that are out there that are working hard. I can’t wait to be in the arena when you break this record.”

Curry’s teammate on the NBA champion Warriors, Klay Thompson, won the award for Best Comeback. He made his triumphant return to action 9 January after being sidelined for more than two years while rehabbing a pair of career-altering injuries.

“It’s just an incredible honour,” Thompson said.

Curry also joined WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith and others in calling attention to WNBA star Brittney Griner, considered “wrongly detained” by the United States in Russia.

Footballer Megan Rapinoe, who also scooped an ESPY, invoked the collective power of sports in calling for Griner’s release.

“Every time we say her name, it puts pressure on everyone — puts pressure on the administration, puts pressure on Russia,” Rapinoe said. “The most striking thing is that BG isn’t here. BG deserves to be free. … We can support her more and let her know that we love her so much.”

Complete list of winners at 2022 ESPYS:

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Dick Vitale

Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Albert Pujols

Pat Tillman Award for Service: Gretchen Evans

Arthur Ashe for Courage Award: Vitali Klitschko

Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year: Denver Broncos

Best MMA Fighter: Charles Oliveira

Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma softball

Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports: Bryce Young, Alabama football

Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Best NFL Player: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Best NBA Player: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Best Game: Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Buffalo Bills in an OT thriller (AFC Divisional Game)

Best Championship Performance: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams – Super Bowl LVI

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Eileen Gu

Best Team: Golden State Warriors

Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: Katie Ledecky

Best Record-Breaking Performance: Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history

Best Play: Megan Rapinoe’s unbelievable corner kick goal

Best Athlete, Men’s Sports: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Best WWE Moment: Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania

Best Olympian, Women’s Sports: Katie Ledecky, Swimming

Best Olympian, Men’s Sports: Caeleb Dressel, Swimming

Best International Athlete, Men’s Soccer: Kylian Mbappé, PSG

Best International Athlete, Women’s Soccer: Sam Kerr, Chelsea

Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Best Driver: Kyle Larson, NASCAR

Best WNBA Player: Candace Parker, Chicago Sky

Best Boxer: Tyson Fury

Best Comeback Athlete: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Best Athlete, Men’s Golf: Justin Thomas

Best Athlete, Women’s Golf: Nelly Korda

Best Athlete, Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal

Best Athlete, Women’s Tennis: Emma Raducanu

Best Athlete With a Disability, Men’s Sports: Brad Snyder, Paratriathlon

Best Athlete With a Disability, Women’s Sports: Jessica Long, Swimming

Best MLS Player: Carlos Vela, LAFC

Best NWSL Player: Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit

Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports: Eli Tomac, Supercross

Best Athlete, Women’s Action Sports: Eileen Gu, Skiing

Best Bowler: Kyle Troup

Best Jockey: Jose Ortiz

(with inputs from AFP)

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