Following their dominant performances at the Tokyo Olympics, American swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky are the United States Sports Academy’s Male and Female Athlete of the Year.
Dressel became just the fourth man in history to win five gold medals in a single Olympics after finishing with wins in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 4×100 freestyle and 4×100 medley events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July. He broke his own world record in the 100m butterfly with a time of 49.25 seconds and set Olympic records in both the 100m freestyle (47.02 seconds) and 50m freestyle (21.07 seconds).
Ledecky won two gold and two silver medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July. Ledecky won her third consecutive 800m freestyle Olympic gold with a time of 8:12.57 and won the 1500m freestyle with a time of 15.37.34. She took silver in the 400m freestyle and the 4×200 freestyle.
The male runner-up was Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani and third place went to American football star Tom Brady.
Ohtani earned unanimous American League MVP honors after starring as a two-way player for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021. Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit at least 30 home runs in the same year he made at least 10 pitching appearances. He hit 46 home runs with a .965 OPS with eight triples and 26 stolen bases. He is just the sixth player ever with at least 45 home runs and 25 stolen bases in the same season. As a pitcher, Ohtani finished with a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts and just 44 walks. According to Baseball-Reference, Ohtani was worth 9.1 wins above replacement, a mark significantly higher than any other play this season.
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady earned Super Bowl MVP honors for the fifth time in his career after leading the Buccaneers to a 31-9 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa. Brady completed 21 of 29 passes for 201 and three touchdowns with a 125.8 passer rating in the win, his NFL record seventh Lombardi Trophy in 10 trips to the Super Bowl.
The female runner-up was American gymnast Sunisa Lee and third place went to American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins.
Lee won the women’s gymnastics all-around gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July with a total score of 57.433. Lee is the fifth consecutive American woman to win the Olympics all-around title.
Diggins became the first American woman to the overall World Cup title in cross-country skiing. The title capped a remarkable season for Diggins, who previously became the first American – male or female – to win the Tour de Ski.
The Athlete of the Year awards are the culmination of the Academy’s yearlong selection process through which outstanding accomplishments of men and women in sports from around the globe are recognized. Each month, the public is invited to participate in the Academy’s worldwide Athlete of the Month program by nominating athletes and then voting online during the first week of every month.
The Athlete of the Year Award is part of the United States Sports Academy’s Awards of Sport program, which each year serves as “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete.” The Academy presents the awards to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions to sport, in categories as diverse as the artist and the athlete in several different arenas of sport.
The awards honor exemplary achievement in coaching, all-around athletic performance, courage, humanitarian activity, fitness and media, among others. The Academy’s American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) annually recognizes these men and women through its Sport Artist of the Year, Honorary Doctorates, Distinguished Service Awards, Outstanding Athletes, and Alumni of the Year awards.
