ESPN presented Jessica Long and Kyle Maynard with 2012 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) awards, in the athlete with a disability category, on July 11.
Long, who was born with fibular hemimelia and underwent bilateral transtibial amputations when she was 18 months old, won the ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability for her many accomplishments in swimming. According to her ESPY nominee profile, Long dominated the year, winning 15 gold medals and setting four world records in the process. She was also named the 2011 Disabled Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.
Long currently holds 20 world records, six of which she earned at the U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials in Bismarck, North Dakota, June 14-16, en route to qualifying for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. The 2012 Games will mark her third appearance. She currently has nine Paralympic medals-three are gold medals won in 2004 when, at the age of 12, she was the youngest athlete on the U.S. Paralympic team. Long also won an ESPY in 2007 for her swimming accomplishments.
Maynard, who was born with a rare disorder that left him with congenital bilateral transfemoral and transhumeral amputations, won the ESPY award for Best Male Athlete with a Disability. According to his ESPY nominee profile, Maynard summited Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro, becoming the first quadruple amputee to do so without assistance.
He also won an ESPY in 2004 for his participation in wrestling throughout high school.
ESPY Awards recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony, according to the ESPY Award page on Facebook. Winners are chosen through online fan balloting, as well as voting by sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, and ESPN personalities.
