Olympic medals and championship rings are rad. But what about an ESPYS trophy?
On July 20, the biggest names in the sporting world headed to the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for the 2022 ESPYS.
Hosted by Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry, the live telecast honored the best plays, games and moments in a variety of sports. Athletes including Aaron Rodgers, Allyson Felix, Chloe Kim and Tom Brady were just some of the many talented names who earned a nomination.
But if you thought the competition was fierce on game day, some of the categories may make you sweat. After all, how can you choose between gymnast Suni Leeswimmer Katie Ledeckytrack & field star Allyson Felix and cross-country skiing Oksana Masters for Best Olympian, Women’s Sports?
“It’s great to be recognized as an athlete and not just an athlete with a disability only,” Oksana shared with E! News at Luxury Experience & Co.’s pre-ESPYS event. “You’re able to be seen as equals…Regardless of if I win or not, that next person with a disability that’s an athlete can see it and believe that it’s possible for them to be there and they’re worthy of being there too.”
Sports Nuts: Famous Fans
America has voted and the winners were announced live. Keep scrolling to find out who scored a brand-new trophy and make sure to watch the show July 20 at 8 pm on ABC.
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Dick Vitale
Pat Tillman Award for Service: Gretchen Evans
Arthur Ashe for Courage Award: Vitali Klitschko
Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year: Denver Broncos
Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
WINNING: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
Oksana Masters, Cross Country Skiing, Road Cycling, Biathlon
Sunisa Lee, Gymnastics
WINNING: Katie Ledecky, Swimming
Candace ParkerChicago Sky
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit
WINNING: Eileen Gu, Skier
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Best Record Breaking Performance
Stephen Curry assists Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history
WINNING: Jocelyn Alo breaks Lauren Chamberlain’s home run record for most in Division I history (96)
Allyson Felix, Track & Field won her 11th career medal, surpassing Carl Lewis for the United States track and field record
Tom Brady becomes the NFL all-time passing yards leader overtaking Drew Brees
Best Championship Performance
WINNING: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams – Super Bowl LVI
Julianna Pena, UFC 269
Max Verstappen, F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche – Stanley Cup Finals
Best Comeback Athlete
WINNING: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
Diamond DeShields, Phoenix Mercury
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
best play
WINNING: Unbelievable Corner Kick Goal by Megan Rapinoe
Justin Tucker’s 66-yard NFL record field goal
Ja Morant Poster
Hansel Enmanuel with the play of the year
Best Team
WINNING: Golden State Warriors, NBA
Chicago Sky, WNBA
Atlanta Braves, MLB
Los Angeles Rams, NFL
Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football
Colorado Avalanche, NHL
Stars and Their Sport Studs
Best Olympian, Women’s Sports
Sunisa Lee, Gymnastics
Oksana Masters, Cross Country Skiing, Road Cycling, Biathlon
WINNING: Katie Ledecky, Swimming
Allyson Felix, Track & Field
Best Olympian, Men’s Sports
Nathan Chen, Figure Skating
Declan Farmer, Sled Hockey
Nick Mayhugh, Track & Field
WINNING: Caeleb Dressel, Swimming
Best Game
WINNING: Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Buffalo Bills in an OT thriller (AFC Divisional Game)
UConn defeats NC State in double OT (Elite 8 NCAA Women’s Basketball)
Kansas’ 16-point rally, which was the biggest comeback in championship game history (NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship)
Bryce Young rallies Alabama to beat Auburn in four OTs (NCAA Football Iron Bowl)
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
WINNING: Bryce Young, Alabama Football
Dante Polvara, Georgetown Men’s Soccer
Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball
Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland Lacrosse
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina Women’s Basketball
Jaelin Howell, Florida State Soccer
WINNING: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Softball
Charlotte North, Boston College Lacrosse
Best International Athlete, Men’s Soccer
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
Kevin De BruyneManchester City
Sadio Mane, Liverpool
WINNING: Kylian Mbappe, PSG
Best International Athlete, Women’s Soccer
Alexia Putellas, Barcelona
WINNING: Sam Kerr, Chelsea
Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal
Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona
Best NFL Player
WINNING: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
TJ Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Best MLB Player
WINNING: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Bryce HarperPhiladelphia Phillies
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves
Best NHL Player
WINNING: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Best Driver
WINNING: Kyle Larson, NASCAR
Max Verstappen, F1
Steve Torrence, NHRA
Alex Palou, IndyCar
Best NBA Player
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
WINNING: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Best WNBA Player
Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
WINNING: Candace ParkerChicago Sky
Best Boxer
WINNING: Tyson Fury
Shakur Stevenson
Katie Taylor
Mikaela Mayer
Best MMA Fighter
Alexander Volkanovski
WINNING: Charles Oliveira
Kamaru Usman
Kayla Harrison
Best Athlete, Men’s Golf
Scottie Scheffler
Cameron Smith
WINNING: Justin Thomas
Jon Rahm
Best Athlete, Women’s Golf
WINNING: Nelly Korda
Ko Jin-young
Lydia Ko
Minjee Lee
Best Athlete, Men’s Tennis
WINNING: Rafael Nadal
Dylan Alcott
Carlos Alcaraz
Felix Auger Aliassime
Best Athlete, Women’s Tennis
WINNING: Emma Raducanu
Ashleigh Barty
Iga Świątek
Leylah Fernandez
Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports
WINNING: Eli Tomac, Supercross
Alex Hall, Skiing
Yuto Horigome, Skateboard
Ayumu Hirano, Snowboard
Best Athlete, Women’s Action Sports
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Snowboard
WINNING: Eileen Gu, Skiing
Rayssa Leal, Skateboard
Chloe Kim, Snowboard
Best Jockey
Flavien Prat
Irad Ortiz
WINNING: Jose Ortiz
Joel Rosario
Best Athlete With a Disability, Men’s Sports
Declan Farmer, Sled Hockey
Nick Mayhugh, Track & Field
WINNING: Brad Snyder, Paratriathlon & Swimming
Ian Seidenfeld, Table Tennis
Best Athlete With a Disability, Women’s Sports
Oksana MastersCycling & Nordic/Biathlon
WINNING: Jessica Long, Swimming
Brenna Huckaby, Snowboarding
Kate WardSoccer
best bowler
Jason Belmonte
Anthony Simonsen
WINNING: Kyle Troup
Dom Barrett
Best MLS Player
Valentin Castellanos, NYCFC
Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas
Carles Gil, New England Revolution
WINNING: Carlos Vela, LAFC
Best NWSL Player
WINNING: Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit
Aubrey BledsoeWashington Spirit
Jess Fishlock, OL Reign
Caprice Dydasco, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Best WWE Moment
MATCH 1
Brock Lesnar wins Royal Rumble
Bianca Belair wins RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania
MATCH 2
John Cena returns to Money In The Bank
Ronda Rousey returns 4 months after giving birth to win Royal Rumble
MATCH 3
WWE welcomes back fans with full live crowd (Smackdown 7/16)
Stone Cold stuns Vince McMahon, Austin Theory, and Pat McAfee on WrestleMania Night 2
WINNING: MATCH 4
Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania to win both the Universal & WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania
MATCH 5
Big E cashes in Money In The Bank briefcase and wins WWE Championship (RAW 9/13)
The Miz turns on Logan Paul at WrestleMania
MATCH 6
Becky Lynch returns at SummerSlam
Undertaker inducted into WWE Hall Of Fame
MATCH 7
Edge defeats Seth Rollins in a Hell In A Cell match at Crown Jewel
Wee Man body slams Sami Zayn at WrestleMania MATCH 8
Brock Lesnar returns at SummerSlam to confront Roman Reigns
Stone Cold returns to the ring to defeat Kevin Owens at WrestleMania
Originally published July 20, 2022 at 1:59 pm PST
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