Caitlin Clark, Patrick Mahomes, and Shohei Ohtani were few of the big stars honored at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday night.
Before the televised ceremony at Dolby Theatre, several winners were announced on the Red Carpet show, during which Clark, Mahomes and Ohtani won awards in their respective fields.
Clark won the ESPY for Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports. Her stellar college career at the University of Iowa lifted her over fellow nominees LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant, Wisconsin volleyball ace Sarah Franklin, and Northwestern lacrosse star Izzy Scane.
The former Iowa Hawkeye’s college milestone of breaking Pete Maravich’s all-time NCAA scoring record was also awarded the Best Record-Breaking Performance.
The No 1 overall pick was also nominated for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports. However, along with Coco Gauff and Nelly Korda, Clark watched reigning WNBA Finals MVP A’ja Wilson notch the award.
Caitlin Clark was named Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports at the 2024 ESPY Awards
Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was named the Best NFL Player
After winning his second straight Super Bowl MVP and third in five years, Mahomes was named the Best NFL Player and Best Athlete in Men’s Sports.
The Kansas City Chiefs poster boy was chosen over Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett, San Francisco 49ers and NFL rushing yards leader Christian McCaffrey, and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens for the league honor.
Meanwhile, the LA Dodgers’ $700m man Ohtani was named the Best MLB Player, as he continues to make the case for NL MVP after leaving the Angels.
Ohtani was selected over the Braves’ Ronald Acuña, Gerrit Cole of the Yankees and Corey Seager of the Rangers.
Both Mahomes and Ohtani were nominated for Best Male Athlete alongside golf star Scottie Scheffler and Edmonton Oilers ace Connor McDavid. With Mahomes getting the award, his second of the evening, Chiefs coach Andy Reid accepted the trophy on his behalf.
National League MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers was named Best MLB Player
Baltimore Ravens and NLF MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson won the ESPY for Best Play
NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown won the award for Best Championship Performance
Furthermore, Max Verstappen was voted Best Driver while Luka Doncic was named Best NBA Player. Wilson also secured her second ESPY of the night after being named Best WNBA Player.
NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who recently got left out of the USA Olympics team, won the trophy for Best Championship Performance.
While gearing up to spearhead the United States gymnastics team in Paris, Simone Biles was named the Best Comeback Athlete.
Other awardees include Brenna Huckaby as the Best Athlete with Disability, Juju Watkins as the Best Breakthrough Athlete, and Jackson for Best Play.
USA Gymnastics star Simone Biles was named Best Comeback Athlete before the Olympics
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson secured ESPY’s for Best Female Athlete and Best WNBA Player
In other sports, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley was named Best UFC Fighter, Terence Crawford won Best Boxer, and Kylian Mbappe won Best Soccer Player. Meanwhile, Gauff and Scheffler won the honors in tennis and golf, respectively. Despite losing the Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was named Best NHL player.
Outside the athletes, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, received the Pat Tillman Award for Service while South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. Meanwhile, the Maui Surfing Community were the recipients of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
Staley’s NCAA Title-winning team was also named the Best Team, while LSU football’s Jayden Daniels won Best College Athlete in the male category. Connor