ESPY Awards Distinguish America’s Top Athletes

• ESPY Awards distinguish Ohashi and Women’s Soccer team
• St. Louis Blues come back from outstanding disadvantage
• Jim Calhoun keeps teaching college basketball at 77

The ESPY Awards held on Wednesday, July 10, distinguished some of the United States’ top athletes and commended the efforts of outstanding coaches.

ESPY Awards Distinguished Top Athletic Talent

The ESPY Awards hosted by ESPN are an annual recognition of various achievements from the world of American sport. It’s a time when the efforts of U.S. athletes are recognized by the sports community. This year, the event was held on Wednesday in Los Angeles, with Tracy Morgan, a comedian, hosting the 27^th edition of the ESPY Awards.

This year had quite a few surprises, but insofar as female athletes were concerned, there weren’t many unknowns. Alex Morgan, the determined female soccer national, landed a distinction as Best Female Athlete.

Meanwhile, her entire team was recognized as Best Team and so the U.S. Women’s National Soccer squad made history. Insofar as Best College Athlete went, there were no surprises here as well with Zion Williamson topping the charts. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo was distinguished as the best male athlete this year, making for a truly outstanding performance in the 2018/2019 season.

St. Louis Blues swept the NHL from being last in January to topping the charts at the end of the season, earning them Best Comeback, and a well-deserved comeback at that. There were quite a few Best Moments, including performance by Lindsey Vonn, Rob Gronkowski and Dwyane Wade.

More from the Awards Best Viral Moments & More

The most viral moment this year came from Katelyn Ohashi who had the public screaming for over two minutes at her collegiate entrance, scoring a perfect 10. But that wasn’t her biggest achievement, as she also won a perfect 10 from the crowd and fans online, with her video going absolutely viral. Hence her Most Viral Moment distinction is indeed well deserved:

Speaking of things that caught fans by surprise, we can’t miss out to mention Andy Ruiz Jr. defeat on Anthony Joshua. Interestingly out of shape, Ruiz knocked Joshua in what turned out to be a quick game in the end.

The victory was liken to Tyson Fury taking on Vladimir Klitschko. There also quite a few names floated in the different categories as well, including:

• Best NFL Player: Patrick Mahomes.
• Best MLB Player: Christian Yelich.
• Best NHL Player: Alexander Ovechkin.
• Best Driver: Kyle Busch.
• Best NBA Player: Antetokounmpo.
• Best WNBA Player: Breanna Stewart.
• Best Boxer: Canelo Álvarez.

Talented coach Jim Calhoun was also distinguished. He is 77 now and he has done a fantastic job teaching the University of Saint Joseph how to play. Meanwhile, U.S. Marine Sgt. Kirstie Ennis was awarded in the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

Of course, the ESPY Awards recognize that there are many talented athletes out there and an award is not the ultimate gauge by which sporting achievement is measured. Yet, the ceremony was a fantastic celebration of human endeavor.