Honda Award
Two-time Olympian and Stanford swimmer Katie Ledecky is the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year,
Olympic gold medalist and five-time NCAA champion swimmer Katie Ledecky has added the Honda Cup to her long list of career accolades.
Ledecky, who attends Stanford, was named the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year at the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Show presented by Honda on Monday night in Los Angeles.
She was one of 12 winners of the Honda Sports Award, which is presented to top female athletes in NCAA-sanctioned sports. The 12 were chosen by a vote of administrators from more than 1,000 schools.
The other finalists: Inky Ajanaku, volleyball, Stanford; Kelly Barnhill, softball, Florida; Kadeisha Buchanan, soccer, West Virginia; Alex McMurtry, gymnastics, Florida; Greta Nauck, field hockey, Delaware; Kelsey Plum, basketball, Washington; Karissa Schweizer, cross country, Missouri; Zoe Stukenberg, la- crosse, Maryland; Monica Vaughn, golf, Arizona State; Kendell Williams, track and field, Georgia; and Belinda Woolcock, tennis, Florida.
Plum and Williams made it to the top three along with Ledecky.
“Amid an outstanding Class of 2017 that truly represented the best of the best, the Honda Cup winner, Katie Ledecky, once again reflects the extraordinary,” Chris Voelz, Collegiate Women Sports Awards executive director, said in a news release.
“On this 45th anniversary of Title IX it is particularly meaningful to reflect on the opportunities that young girls like Katie had on their way to being a world-class female athlete on the shoulders of her mother who was one of the first beneficiaries of Title IX.”
Ledecky’s mother, Mary Gen, swam at the University of New Mexico.
During her freshman season, Ledecky became the first swimmer in 29 years to win individual NCAA titles in the 200 freestyle, 500 free and 1,650 free, and she was also a member of Stanford’s winning 400 free and 800 free relays. She broke individual NCAA records seven times during her season at Stanford and set American individual records five times.
A two-time Olympian, Ledecky has five Olympic gold medals and a silver. The 20-year-old from Maryland holds three individual world records and is a nine-time world champion.
This week she’s competing in Indianapolis at the Phillips 66 national championships, which is the qualifier for this summer’s world championships in Budapest.
It’s the eighth time a Honda Sports Award winner for swimming and diving has gone on to claim the Honda Cup.
Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin (California) won the honor in 2015. The others include Tara Kirk (Stanford, 2004), Cristina Teuscher (Columbia, 2000), Mary T. Meagher (California, 1987), Tracy Caulkins (Florida, 1984 and 1982) and Jill Sterkel (Texas, 1981).