Katie Ledecky is among 18 athletes nominated by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for its 2022 James E. Sullivan Award honoring the most outstanding amateur athlete in the nation.
The AAU Sullivan Award is once again using a loose definition of “amateur” for this year’s ballot, which will be the 92nd in history. The criteria was recently refocused toward just the top athlete of the year in order to accommodate Olympians, and now NCAA athletes, who are in many cases no longer amateurs.
The 25-year-old Ledecky is coming off a huge summer in which she brought home four gold medals from the World Championships in June, earning “Female Swimmer of the Meet.” She set a meet record with a 3:58.34 in the 400-meter freestyle before adding another meet record in the 4×200 free relay (7:41.45). Ledecky won the 1500 free in 15:30.15, nearly 10 seconds off her own world record but still more than eight seconds faster than any other female swimmer in history. She also claimed her fifth world title in a row in the 800 free (8:08.04), becoming the first swimmer to accomplish such a feat.
Ledecky’s 4-for-4 performance gave her 22 career Worlds medals, overtaking Natalie Coughlin as the most decorated female athlete ever at the meet. Ledecky is back in action this weekend for the second stop of the World Cup in Toronto, where the seven-time Olympic champion set an American record in the 400 free on Friday.
Notable past recipients of the AAU Sullivan Award include Peyton Manning, Michelle Kwan, Sabrina Ionescu, Michael Johnson, and Caeleb Dressel. Dressel shared the honor with gymnast Simone Biles last year, marking the third year in a row that co-winners were named. In 91 years of handing out the AAU Sullivan Award, 13 swimmers have been recognized with the award. Dressel’s AAU Sullivan Award win snapped a nine-year drought of swimmers taking home the honor.
Past AAU Sullivan Award Winners, Swimmers
- 1944: Ann Curtis
- 1964: Don Schollander
- 1968: Debbie Meyer
- 1970: John Kinsella
- 1971: Mark Spitz
- 1975: Tim Shaw
- 1977: John Naber
- 1978: Tracy Caulkins
- 1989: Janet Evans
- 2003: Michael Phelps
- 2006: Jessica Long
- 2012: Missy Franklin
- 2021: Caeleb Dressel (co-recipient with gymnastics’ Simone Biles)
This year’s nominee list also features: Aliyah Boston (basketball); Allyson Felix (track and field); Athing Mu (track and field); Bryce Young (football); Carissa Moore (surfing); Chloe Kim (snowboarding); Elana Meyers Taylor (bobsled); Erin Jackson (speed skating); Ivan Melendez (baseball); Jaime Jaquez Jr. (basketball); Jocelyn Alo (softball); Jordan Burroughs (wrestling); Kaillie Humphries (bobsled); Logan Wisnauskas (lacrosse); Maddie Musselman (water polo); Nathan Chen (figure skating); Sophie Jaques (ice hockey); and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (track and field).
Fans can vote here once a day from now through Nov. 9.
Jaquez being nominated is hilarious, he wasn’t the best player on his team, he probably wasn’t in the top 50 in the sport.
McLaughlin should be the winner here imo.