For the 3rd-straight year, American swimmer Katie Ledecky has been nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Award.
The annual awards show is a sports-specific spinoff of the original that has been put on by children and teens television network Nickelodeon every year since 1988, which makes 2017 the 30th edition of that show. The Kids’ Choice Sports Awards were launched in 2014. Winners receive a ceremonial orange blimp trophy, which was a logo for the network for the first 25 years of the channel’s existence.
While some special awards are given out by Nickelodeon staff, the main awards are all voted on by Nickelodeon viewers, meaning that they primarily represent the interests of a younger audience.
Ledecky is a 6-time Olympic medalist, 14-time World Champion, and won both the 500 and 1650 freestyles at the 2018 NCAA Championships in her redshirt sophomore year before turning pro. She also already has a World Record this year, breaking the 1500m freestyle mark in May at the Pro Swim Series stop in Indianapolis in her first-ever race as a pro.
Ledecky is one of 7 nominees for Favorite Female Athlete, one of the two premier awards given out at the event.
Favorite Female Athlete Nominees:
- Alex Morgan – Soccer
- Chloe Kim – Snowboarding
- Jamie Anderson – Snowboarding
- Katie Ledecky – Swimming
- Mikaela Shiffrin – Skiing
- Sloane Stephens – Tennis
- Venus Williams – Tennis
Ledecky is also nominated for Clutch Player of the Year
Clutch Player of the Year Nominees:
- Carli Lloyd – Soccer
- Chris Paul – Basketball
- Katie Ledecky – Swimming
- Kevin Durant – Basketball
- Lionel Messi – Soccer
- Nick Foles – Football
Ledecky was the only swimmer nominated this year, after her teammate Simone Manuel was nominated for Favorite Newcomer last year.
While no swimmer has ever won an award, 23-time Olympic gold medalist and most decorated swimmer in history Michael Phelps is on the Kids’ Choice Awards Sports Council that advises the shows on categories and nominees.
List of Awards to Vote for in 2018:
- Favorite Male Athlete
- Favorite Female Athlete
- King of Swag
- Queen of Swag
- Best Cannon
- Biggest Powerhouse
- Heavy Hitter
- Clutch Player of the Year
- Don’t Try This at Home
- Favorite Newcomer
- Hands of Gold
- Need for Speed
- Sickest Moves
- Nothing But Net
- Winter Wonders
- Biggest Kid
- Most Valuable Most Valuable Player
- Play of the Year
I like Mikaela Shiffrin very much. She had once again a great season. She won so many world cup races, she won the overall and the giant slalom gold at olympic games. It was an olympic year for winter athletes so it would be logical for her to win. She’s already a legend of her sport at a very young age but I doubt that American teenagers know much about her. Unfortunately.
Actually Bobo, Mikaela S had an extremely disappointing Olympics. She did not win the Overall at the Games as hyped and predicted, took only one gold, missed the podium completely in another event and bailed out of her fourth event and did not even compete. And to make things worse, her boyfriend is French!
😀
trying to figure out how to downvote bobo in this new comment format. 😉
Go Card! Go Katie! My sports and academics idol.
I think Ledecky’s again also been nominated for an ESPY this year, for like the millionth time. The reason swimmers never win these July awards is that the nominated swimmers, like MP in the past and Ledecky, usually have the priority of training to win at US Nationals and can’t attend these shows in-person to pick up the awards, which is generally a TV requirement. Katie very deserving though. If MP is on the awards council, he should just pocket a couple of the awards–one for himself and one for Ledecky.
Congrats Katie! Such a kind young lady, represents everything great about the sport of swimming.