Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award
Awarded forbest female action sports athlete
CountryUnited States
Presented byESPN
First awarded2004
Currently held byEileen Gu (China)
Websitewww.espn.co.uk/espys/

The Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female athlete from the world of action sports. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was presented the previous two years (with the American snowboarder Kelly Clark receiving the 2002 award).[1] It is given to the female, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best action sports athlete in a given calendar year. Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts.[2] It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.[3]

The inaugural winner of the award was the American wakeboarder Dallas Friday.[4] During 2003 and 2004, Friday won 12 of the available 14 professional women's titles, including national and world championships. She became the first wakeboarder to be nominated for, and hence to win, an ESPY Award.[5] Athletes from the United States have won more times than any other nationality with ten (three times to snowboarders Jamie Anderson and Chloe Kim), followed by Australians with three, two of which went to the surfer Stephanie Gilmore. Snowboarders are most successful sportspeople, with eleven awards, followed by surfers with four. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The most recent winner of the award was Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu in 2022.[7]

Winners

Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award winners and nominees
Year Image Athlete Nation of citizenship Sport(s) regularly contested Nominees Refs
2004 – Dallas Friday  United States Wakeboarding Layne Beachley ( AUS) – Surfing
Aleisha Cline ( CAN) – Ski cross
Hannah Teter ( USA) – Snowboarding 		[4][8]
2005 Sofia Mulanovich in 2007 Sofía Mulánovich  Peru Surfing Karin Huttary ( AUT) – Ski cross
Janna Meyen ( USA) – Snowboarding
Hannah Teter ( USA) – Snowboarding 		[9][10]
2006 Hannah Teter in 2005 Hannah Teter  United States Snowboarding (half-pipe) Gretchen Bleiler ( USA) – Snowboarding
Cara-Beth Burnside ( USA) – Skateboarding
Dallas Friday ( USA) – Wakeboarding
Janna Meyen ( USA) – Snowboarding 		[11][12]
2007 Sarah Burke in 2010 Sarah Burke  Canada Freestyle skiing Jamie Anderson ( USA) – Snowboarding
Layne Beachley ( AUS) – Surfing
Torah Bright ( USA) – Snowboarding
Elissa Steamer ( USA) – Skateboarding 		[13][14]
2008 Gretchen Bleiler in 2010 Gretchen Bleiler  United States Snowboarding (half-pipe, slopestyle) Stephanie Gilmore ( AUS) – Surfing
Lindsey Jacobellis ( USA) – Snowboarding
Jessica Patterson ( USA) – Motocross 		[15][16]
2009 Maya Gabeira in 2014 Maya Gabeira  Brazil Surfing Torah Bright ( USA) – Snowboarding
Sarah Burke ( CAN) – Freestyle skiing
Ashley Fiolek ( USA) – Motocross 		[17][18]
2010 Torah Bright in 2010 Torah Bright  Australia Snowboarding (half-pipe) Ashley Fiolek ( USA) – Motocross
Stephanie Gilmore ( AUS) – Surfing
Jen Hudak ( USA) – Freestyle skiing
Ashleigh McIvor ( CAN) – Freestyle skiing 		[19][20]
2011 Stephanie Gilmore in 2008 Stephanie Gilmore  Australia Surfing Sarah Burke ( CAN) – Freestyle skiing
Kelly Clark ( USA) – Snowboarding
Ashley Fiolek ( USA) – Motocross 		[21][22]
2012 Jamie Anderson in 2013 Jamie Anderson  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Kelly Clark ( USA) – Snowboarding
Carissa Moore ( USA) – Surfing
Kaya Turski ( CAN) – Freestyle skiing 		[23][24]
2013 Stephanie Gilmore in 2008 Stephanie Gilmore  Australia Surfing Letícia Bufoni ( BRA) – Skateboarding
Kelly Clark ( USA) – Snowboarding
Laia Sanz ( ESP) – Motocross 		[25][26]
2014 Jamie Anderson in 2014 Jamie Anderson  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Maddie Bowman ( USA) – Freestyle skiing
Kelly Clark ( USA) – Snowboarding
Vicki Golden ( USA) – Motocross
Carissa Moore ( USA) – Surfing 		[27][28]
2015 Kelly Clark in 2010 Kelly Clark  United States Snowboarding (half-pipe) Paige Alms ( USA) – Surfing
Stephanie Gilmore ( AUS) – Surfing
Laia Sanz ( ESP) – Motocross 		[29][30]
2016 Jamie Anderson in 2014 Jamie Anderson  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Keala Kennelly ( USA) – Surfing
Chloe Kim ( USA) – Snowboarding
Carissa Moore ( USA) – Surfing 		[31][32]
2017 Anna Gasser in 2017 Anna Gasser  Austria Snowboarding (slopestyle) Lacey Baker ( USA) – Skateboarding
Kelly Sildaru ( EST) – Freestyle skiing
Tyler Wright ( AUS) – Surfing 		[33][34]
2018 Chloe Kim in 2017 Chloe Kim  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Jamie Anderson ( USA) – Snowboarding
Stephanie Gilmore ( AUS) – Surfing
Brighton Zeuner ( USA) – Skateboarding 		[35][36]
2019 Chloe Kim in 2017 Chloe Kim  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Kelly Sildaru ( EST) – Skiing
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ( NZL) – Snowboarding
Stephanie Gilmore ( AUS} Surfing 		[37][38]
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2021 Chloe Kim in 2017 Chloe Kim  United States Snowboarding (slopestyle) Eileen Gu ( CHN) – Skiing
Carissa Moore ( USA) – Surfing
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ( NZL) – Snowboarding 		[39][40]
2022 Gu in 2020 Eileen Gu  China Freestyle skiing Chloe Kim ( USA) – Snowboarding
Rayssa Leal ( BRA) – Skateboarding
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ( NZL – Snowboarding 		[7][41]

See also

References

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External links

Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award winners
ESPY Awards
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