The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award (sometimes called the Outstanding Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award) was an annual award honoring the achievements of an athlete from the world of

disabled sports Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

. It was first presented as part of the

ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the for ...

s at the 2002 edition as part of the ceremony's tenth anniversary of its establishment. The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor

Lawrence Nowlan Lawrence Joseph Nowlan Jr. (January 11, 1965 – July 30, 2013) was an American sculptor and figurative artist known for his statues of notable individuals, including Harry Kalas and Jackie Gleason. Nowlan also designed memorials, including the f ...

, was presented to the disabled sportsperson adjudged to be the best at the annual

s ceremony in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. For the 2004 ceremony, the winner was chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous. The inaugural winner of the Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award at the 2002 edition was mountain climber

Erik Weihenmayer Erik Weihenmayer (born September 23, 1968) is an American athlete, adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker. He was the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. As a result of this accomplishment h ...

who has a total

visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

and he became the first blind person to reach the summit of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in May 2001. He is one of three people to have won the award during its three-year history; sprinter Marlon Shirley won the accolade at the 2003 ceremony for becoming the first amputee in history to set a time below eleven seconds in the men's 100 metres at the Utah Summer Games, and

Kyle Maynard Kyle Maynard (born March 24, 1986) is an American speaker, author and mixed martial arts athlete, known for becoming the first quadruple amputee to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics. He is also founder of the No Excuses Cros ...

was voted the winner of the award in the 2004 iteration because of his strong form in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

in high school despite being born with

congenital amputation Congenital amputation is birth without a limb or limbs, or without a part of a limb or limbs. It is known to be caused by blood clots forming in the fetus while ''in utero'' (vascular insult) and from amniotic band syndrome: fibrous bands of the ...

that resulted in the shortening of all his limbs. The Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was discontinued and bifurcated by gender in 2005 to establish the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award and the

Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award The Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the community of disabled sports. Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States men's Paralym ...

Winners and nominees

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Best Athlete With A Disability Espy Award ESPY Awards Disabled sports awards Awards established in 2002 Awards disestablished in 2004 2002 establishments in the United States

Winners and nominees

See also

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links