Skier Mikaela Shiffrin wins best women’s athlete at The ESPYS
Alpine Skier Mikaela Shiffrin accepts the award for best athlete in women's sports at the ESPY awards on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin arrives at the ESPY awards on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Former professional boxer Mike Tyson arrives at the ESPY awards on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Former professional WNBA basketball player Sue Bird presents the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the ESPY awards on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES – Skier Mikaela Shiffrin was honored as best women’s sports athlete at The ESPYS on Wednesday night.
The 29-year-old won her 87th World Cup race in March, breaking the mark set by Ingemar Stenmark for the most such wins by any skier. She went on to win an 88th Cup race, as well as the overall season title.
“This season was absolutely incredible and there was a lot of talk about records and it got me thinking, why is a record actually important?” Shiffrin said at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. “I just feel like it’s not important to break records or re-set records. It’s important to set the tone for the next generation, to inspire them.”
Sports talk host Pat McAfee handled the opening monologue in his first major public appearance since joining ESPN in May.
The show honoring the past year’s top sports moments and athletes didn’t have a celebrity host as a result of the Hollywood writers strike.
Vitale has cancer
Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale says he has been diagnosed with cancer for a third time.
Vitale tweeted Wednesday that he had surgery in Boston this week, and tests revealed that he has vocal cord cancer. He said he will undergo six weeks of radiation treatments.
“I plan to fight like hell to be ready to call games when the college hoops season kicks off in the fall,” Vitale tweeted, adding that his doctor “feels that scenario is entirely possible.”
The 84-year-old Vitale has previously been treated for melanoma and lymphoma. He celebrated being cancer-free in April of last year.
Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, the year the network launched. He called ESPN’s first college basketball broadcast. He’s also a longtime fundraiser for cancer research.