Katie Ledecky holds the FINA best female swimmer of the meet trophy at 2013 FINA world championships. (Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)
Bethesda swimming sensational Katie Ledecky seems to receive nominations for just about every award for which she’s eligible.
On the heels of winning Swimming World Magazine’s female athlete of the year, USA Swimming’s Golden Goggles award for female athlete of the year, and U.S. Olympic Committee’s sportswoman of the year, Ledecky has been nominated for a yet another prestigious sports designation.
Ledecky, along with fellow Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin, has been nominated for the United States Sports Academy’s female athlete of the year award for 2013.
Ledecky’s athlete bio provided by USSA:
Katie Ledecky set two world records in five days, won four gold medals and was named the top female swimmer at the world swimming championships in Barcelona. The 16-year-old dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 15 minutes, 36.53 seconds, which beat the six-year-old mark by 6 seconds. In the 800-meter freestyle, she finished in 8:13.86, shaving nearly a quarter of a second off the old world record set in 2008.
Add, set national high school record in 500-yard freestyle and was named 2012-2013 All Met Swimmer of the Year to that list and you have a pretty good summary of what the 16-year-old Stone Ridge junior has been up to in 2013. She may also have received her driver’s license.
The ballot of 12 males and 12 females went live on Sunday, Dec. 1 and closes at midnight Friday, Dec. 20. Last year’s winners were sprint star Usbain Bolt and tennis legend Serena Williams, both of which have been nominated again this year. Vote online, here.
The Academy, in conjunction with NBC Sports, will announce the 2013 Male and Female Athletes of the Year on Christmas Day on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
In alphabetical order, the 12 women competing for the female athlete of the year honor are:
Simone Boles, Gymanstics, United States
Missy Franklin, Swimming, United States
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Track and Field, Jamaica
Katie Ledecky, Swimming, United States
Maya Moore, Basketball, United States
Inbee Park, Golf, South Korea
Suzann Pettersen, Golf, Norway
Brianna Rollins, Track and Field, United States
Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing, United States
Abby Wambach, Soccer, United States
Serena Williams, Tennis, United States
Kim Yuna, Figure Skating, South Korea
In alphabetical order, the 12 men competing for the male athlete of the year honor are:
Usain Bolt, Track and Field, Jamaica
Joe Flacco, Football, United States
Chris Froome, Cycling, Great Britain
LeBron James, Basketball, United States
Wilson Kipsang, Marathon, Kenya
Todd Ligety, Skiing, United States
Lionel Messi, Soccer, Argentina
Rafael Nadal, Tennis, Spain
David Ortiz, Baseball, Dominican Republic
Manny Pacquiao, Boxing, Philippines
Kohei Uchimura, Gymnastics, Japan
Tiger Woods, Golf, United States
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