Shiffrin, Masters, Adicoff Nominated for 2026 ESPY Awards
Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin and Stifel U.S. Para Nordic Ski Team athletes Oksana Masters and Jake Adicoff were nominated for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) awards, with nominations formally announced on June 25, 2026. Shiffrin was nominated for Best Athlete, Women's Sports, Masters and Adicoff for Best Athlete with a Disability.
The ESPY Awards are an annual sports award show that highlights the best athletes, teams and change-makers in sports, ranging from basketball, tennis, F1, soccer and football to Olympic and Paralympic sports. 2026 nominees include athletes like gymnast Alysa Liu, basketball player Jalen Brunson, soccer player Lionel Messi and cross country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.
Shiffrin Nominated for Best Athlete, Women's Sports
In the Best Athlete, Women's Sports category, three-time Olympic gold medalist, eight-time world champion medalist and winningest alpine skier of all time Mikaela Shiffrin was nominated alongside hockey star Hilary Knight, golfer Nelly Korda and WNBA standout A'ja Wilson.
Throughout the 2025-26 season, Shiffrin was virtually untouchable in the slalom, winning nine of 10 races on the World Cup tour and claiming her record ninth discipline globe and tying the all-time women's record with her sixth career overall title, all while pushing her career World Cup win total to 110 victories. On top of that, Shiffrin earned her third Olympic gold medal by winning the slalom by a historic margin of 1.5 seconds, cementing her place in history as the most decorated alpine ski racer of all time.
Masters Nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability
The most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, Oksana Masters, was nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability alongside teammate Jake Adicoff, Para hockey player Declan Farmer and wheelchair racing athlete Susannah Scaroni. Masters, who competes in both cross country and biathlon in the sitting classification, has amassed 24 Paralympic medals across four different sports — Para cross country skiing, Para biathlon, Para cycling and Para rowing — and has competed at eight Paralympic Games dating to London 2012 in both summer and winter Games. Masters was the first Para athlete nominated in the Best Athlete, Women's Sports category at the ESPYs in 2022 and has been nominated several times in the Best Female Athlete with a Disability category — this is her 11th ESPY nomination.
Adicoff Nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability
Jake Adicoff, who competes in the visually impaired classification in Para cross country, was nominated in the Best Athlete with a Disability category — this is his first ESPY nomination. The nomination comes after a dominant performance at the Paralympic Winter Games, where he swept all four gold medals. The Sun Valley, Idaho, native holds 11 World Championship medals and eight Paralympic medals. In Milano Cortina, he set a record for the most Para cross country gold medals won by a Team USA athlete in a single Games.
Your vote helps decide the winners! The full list of nominations can be found here. Cast your vote now and tune in July 15, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC for the show, held in New York City. You can vote daily and from multiple devices.
