The Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of disabled sports. Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States Paralympic soccer player Eli Wolff, the accolade's trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is presented to the disabled sportsman adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was first bestowed as part of the ESPY Awards in 2005 after the non-gender specific Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was presented the previous three years (all won by sportsmen). 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. It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.
The inaugural winner of the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2005 which was won by Paralympic track and field competitor Marlon Shirley, who won two medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and was the first para-athlete to go below eleven seconds in the men's 100-meter category with a time of 10.97 seconds. In 2015, South African wheelchair racer Krige Schabort was selected as the recipient of the award. , he is the only athlete born outside of the United States to have won the accolade, though three additional foreign sportsmen have since earned nominations. Track and field athletes have won more awards than any other sport with four with three triathlon winners and two winners each coming in sledge hockey, mixed martial arts, and wrestling. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent winner of the award was American para-swimmer Brad Snyder in 2022.
Winners and nominees + Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award winners and nominees Year Image Athlete Nationality Sport Nominees 2005 – Paralympic track and field Rudy Garcia-Tolson () – SwimmingPaul Martin () – Cycling 2006 – American football Steve Cook () – Cross-country skiingAnthony Robles () – Wrestling 2007 Paralympic track and field Robin Ammerlaan () – Wheelchair tennisJosh George () – Paralympic track and fieldKrige Schabort () – Wheelchair racing 2008 – Wrestling Philip Scholz () – SwimmingMatt Scott () – Wheelchair basketballMarthell Vazquez () – Soccer 2009 Triathlon Jeremy Campbell () – Paralympic track and fieldWill Groulx ( – Wheelchair rugbyOscar Pistorius () – Paralympic track and field 2010 Sledge hockey Rudy Garcia-Tolson () – TriathlonAndy Soule () – Cross-country skiing 2011 – Wrestling Chris Devlin-Young () – Alpine skiingAaron Scheidies () – TriathlonJerome Singleton () – Paralympic track and fieldSteve Wampler () – Climbing 2012 Mixed martial arts Baxter Humby () – Mixed martial artsRaymond Martin () – Wheelchair racingOz Sanchez ( – CyclingTyler Walker () – Alpine skiing 2013 – Paralympic track and field Jeff Fabry () – ArcheryRaymond Martin () – Wheelchair racingBrad Snyder () – SwimmingTyler Walker () – Alpine skiing 2014 Sledge hockey Mark Bathum () – Alpine skiingRaymond Martin () – Wheelchair racingMike Shea () – SnowboardingEvan Strong () – Boardercross 2015 – Wheelchair racing Joseph Berenyi ( – CyclingJosh Pauls () – Sledge hockeyMike Shea () – SnowboardingAndy Soule () – Cross-country skiing 2016 Paralympic track and field Joseph Berenyi () – CyclingAaron Fotheringham () – Skateboarding/BMXNikko Landeros () – Sledge hockeyBrad Snyder () – Swimming 2017 Wheelchair basketball Will Groulx () – CyclingMike Minor () – SnowboardingBrad Snyder () – SwimmingRoderick Townsend-Roberts () – Paralympic track and field 2018 – Snowboarding Daniel Cnossen () – BiathlonDeclan Farmer () – Sledge hockeyAndrew Kurka () – Alpine skiing 2019 – Triathlon Declan Farmer () – Sledge hockeyDaniel Romanchuk () – MarathonOz Sanchez () – Cycling 2020Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 – Triathlon Evan Austin () – SwimmingJesse Billauer () – SurfingKeith Gabel () – Snowboarding 2022 Triathlon and swimming Declan Farmer () – Sledge hockeyNick Mayhugh () – Paralympic track and fieldIan Seidenfeld () – Para table tennis
Statistics
+ Multiple winners and nominees Name Wins Nominations 1 2 1 2 1 4 1 2 1 1 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2
+ Winners by sport Sport Winners Nominations Paralympic track and field 4 10 Triathlon 4 5 Sledge hockey 2 7 Mixed martial arts 2 3 Wrestling 2 3 Swimming 1 6 Snowboarding 1 5 Wheelchair racing 1 5 Wheelchair basketball 1 2 American football 1 1 Alpine skiing 0 5 Cycling 0 6 Cross-country skiing 0 3 Archery 0 1 Biathlon 0 1 Boardercross 0 1 Marathon 0 1 Soccer 0 1 Surfing 0 1 Table tennis 0 1 Wheelchair rugby 0 1 Wheelchair tennis 0 1
See also Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award United States Olympic Committee Paralympian of the Year Award Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
References
External links