If Gilmore wins, she’ll have three ESPYs under her belt. Image: WSL/Matt Dunbar
To the surprise of no one, Stephanie Gilmore has been nominated for an ESPY award again. This is her sixth nomination, and she’s already won it twice, once in 2011 and again in 2013.
“The ESPYs are the academy awards for sports,” she said. “It’s a huge honor. There are so many incredible athletes out there achieving their dreams and etching their names in history books of sport. This means that although surfing is quite small-scale, female surfers are right there in the mix with the mainstream sporting heroes.”
Steph’s on a roll this year. Fresh off a J-Bay win, she’s solidly in the running for another world title. Also in contention for the ESPY Best Female Action Sport Athlete are Chloe Kim, the US snowboarder who took Olympic Gold and the world’s heart in South Korea, and Jamie Anderson, who won gold in slopestyle. Anderson already has three ESPYs, so if Gilmore wins this year, she’ll be tied for the most of any female athlete.
“Surfers have long been in the ESPYs mix,” wrote the WSL’s Anna Dimond. “With pros including Kelly Slater, Carissa Moore, Maya Gabeira, Sofia Mulanovich, Tyler Wright and John John Florence all earning nominations over the past decade-plus. Along with Gilmore, Gabeira and Mulanovich have both taken home trophies.”
The ESPYs are decided not by a judging panel, but by the people. Fans vote for their favorite online, and the votes are then tallied.
