Simone Biles accepts the Best Female Athlete award onstage at the 2017 ESPY Awards on July 12, 2017 in Los Angeles.
Simone Biles was one of nine U.S. Olympians and Paralympians honored with ESPY Awards during the 25th annual ceremony Wednesday night.
Biles, who earned four golds and a bronze at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, won for best female athlete, beating out fellow Olympic champions Katie Ledecky, Candace Parker and Serena Williams.
Male athlete of the year also went to an Olympian: NBA star Russell Westbrook, who won gold with Team USA at Olympic Games London 2012.
Biles also won for best female U.S. Olympic athlete. The other nominees were Allyson Felix, Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel, all of whom also made history in Rio.
Michael Phelps took home two awards as well: best record-breaking performance and male U.S. Olympic athletes.
Phelps won for record-breaking performance for extending his collection of Olympic gold medals to 23, beating out Bill Belichick for most Super Bowl wins by a coach, Diana Taurasi for breaking the WNBA scoring record and Russell Westbrook for most triple-doubles in a season.
His male U.S. Olympic athlete win was over Ashton Eaton, Ryan Murphy and Kyle Snyder.
“For me to be able to come back, come out of retirement, as a 14-year-old little kid all the way from Baltimore and having a dream of wanting to do massive things, it’s pretty wild to look back at the career,” Phelps said.
He went on to pay tribute to his wife.
“Today’s my wife’s birthday and we met here 10 years ago, and it’s the most amazing thing in the world,” he said. “Thank you.”
Two-time Olympian Kevin Durant won the trophy for best championship performance in the NBA Finals over Tom Brady, Shay Knighten of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Women’s College World Series and Clemson’s DeShaun Watson in the College Football National Championship. Durant also shared the award for best team with his Golden State Warriors teammates.
“It feels great to be here with all these athletes,” he said. “You guys inspire me every day.”
Two-time Olympic champ Candace Parker won best WNBA player after leading the Los Angeles Sparks to their first title since 2002. Three-time Olympic medalist LeBron James won best NBA player in leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals.
Wheelchair basketball Paralympian Steve Serio took home the award for best male athlete with a disability after leading Team USA to gold in Rio. Swimmer Becca Meyers received the female award after winning three golds and a silver in Rio.
And finally, after winning her sixth Wimbledon title and showing no sign of slowing down at age 35, Serena Williams won for best female tennis player.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
