FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2014
|
U.S. Olympians, Paralympians headline The 2014 ESPYS; sled hockey player Josh Sweeney receives inaugural Pat Tillman Award for Service
Additional 22 Team USA athletes nominated for Nickelodeon’s inaugural Kids’ Choice Sports awards COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A host of U.S. Olympians and Paralympians were recognized tonight at The 2014 ESPYS, held at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. Determined by fan vote, 12 U.S. Olympians and Paralympians took home accolades in 11 categories.
Leading the list of Team USA winners were 2012 Olympic basketball champion Kevin Durant and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo Ronda Rousey, winning Best Male Athlete and Best Female Athlete, respectively. Additionally, 2014 Olympic champion in slopestyle snowboarding, Jamie Anderson, joins Durant as the most decorated 2014 ESPYS Olympians, each winning two. Anderson took home accolades for Best Female U.S. Olympian and Best Female Action Sports Athlete, while Durant won Best NBA Player in addition to Best Male Athlete. In its 22nd year, the ESPYS – short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly – commemorate the most exciting moments, greatest achievements and top performances in athletics around the globe. At this year’s ceremony, Sochi 2014 Olympic bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator was on the scene as Team USA’s red carpet correspondent. She captured interviews with U.S. Olympic and Paralympic nominees, which can be found at TeamUSA.org. She also took over @USOlympic on Twitter and Team USA on Instagram, serving fans behind-the-scenes highlights and special access to some of their favorite Team USA athletes. The 2014 ESPYS nominees, first announced June 24, featured 30 U.S. Olympians and eight Paralympians in 16 categories. Below are the 12 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic nominees who won in their respective categories. Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Brad Guzan and Tim Howard; soccer Jamie Anderson; slopestyle snowboarding Kevin Durant; basketball Declan Farmer; sled hockey Sage Kotsenburg; slopestyle snowboarding Floyd Mayweather; boxing Maya Moore; basketball Ronda Rousey; judo Russell Westbrook; basketball Additionally, sled hockey player Josh Sweeney – who scored the gold medal-winning goal in Team USA’s 1-0 victory over Russia at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games – received the inaugural Pat Tillman Award for Service. A special honor created by ESPN and the Pat Tillman Foundation in honor of former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the award recognizes an individual with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the Tillman legacy. “This is a tremendous honor and, hopefully, this award will help others like me realize that nothing is impossible without hard work and dedication,” Sweeney said. “Organizations like the Pat Tillman Foundation are amazing and being honored by them is extremely humbling.” An able-bodied ice hockey player in high school, Sweeney was drawn to sled hockey while rehabbing an injury he received from an improvised explosive device in October 2009 while serving as a sniper in the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan. He later received a Purple Heart for his service. A special one-on-one interview with Sweeney can be found at USParalympics.org. KIDS’ CHOICE SPORTS AWARDS 2014 As the summer awards season continues, 22 U.S. Olympians have been nominated in 12 of 15 categories for Nickelodeon’s inaugural Kids’ Choice Sports awards. The winners – selected by fan vote on nick.com/kids-choice-sports/vote – will be announced live at 8 p.m. ET Thursday (July 17) on Nickelodeon. Below are the U.S. Olympic nominees: Best Female Athlete Best Male Athlete Best Save Biggest Cannon Clutch Player of the Year Don’t Try This Move at Home
Lindsey Vonn, alpine skiing Shaun White, snowboarding Favorite Comeback Athlete King of Swag Party like a Sports Star Queen of Swag Sickest Moves Superstar Siblings United States Olympic Committee |