US Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin and Stifel U.S. Para Nordic Ski Team athletes Oksana Masters and Jake Adicoff have been nominated for 2026 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards. Shiffrin earned a nomination for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports, while Masters and Adicoff were both nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability.
The ESPYs celebrate the year’s top athletes, teams and moments across the sports world, recognizing excellence in everything from basketball, soccer and Formula 1 to Olympic and Paralympic competition. This year’s nominees include figure skater Alysa Liu, basketball player Jalen Brunson, soccer star Lionel Messi and cross country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.
If you are interested in casting a vote to determine the winners, you can do so here and tune in to check out the results on July 15, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. U.S. Ski & Snowboard suggests you can vote daily and from multiple devices…hint, hint.
Shiffrin Nominated for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
Three-time Olympic gold medalist, eight-time world champion and the winningest alpine skier in history, Mikaela Shiffrin is nominated alongside hockey star Hilary Knight, golfer Nelly Korda and WNBA standout A’ja Wilson.
Shiffrin delivered one of the most dominant seasons of her career in 2025-26. She won nine of 10 World Cup slalom races, captured a record ninth slalom discipline globe and tied the all-time women’s record with her sixth overall World Cup title. She also extended her career World Cup win total to 110 victories.
At the Olympic Winter Games, Shiffrin claimed her third career gold medal with a historic 1.5-second victory in the slalom, further cementing her legacy as the most decorated alpine ski racer of all time.
Masters Nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability
The most decorated Winter Paralympian in history, Oksana Masters, is nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability alongside teammate Jake Adicoff, Para hockey player Declan Farmer and wheelchair racing standout Susannah Scaroni.
Competing in the sitting classification in Para cross country skiing and biathlon, Masters has won 24 Paralympic medals across four sports: Para cross country skiing, Para biathlon, Para cycling and Para rowing. She has competed in eight Paralympic Games since making her debut at London 2012, spanning both the Summer and Winter Paralympics.
Masters continues to make history beyond competition. She became the first Para athlete nominated for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports at the ESPYs in 2022 and has received multiple nominations in disability-specific categories. This year marks her 11th career ESPY nomination.
Adicoff Nominated for Best Athlete with a Disability
Jake Adicoff receives his first career ESPY nomination after a breakthrough season in the visually impaired classification of Para cross country skiing.
Adicoff earned the honor following a dominant performance at the Paralympic Winter Games, where he swept all four cross country gold medals. The Sun Valley, Idaho, native now owns 11 World Championship medals and eight Paralympic medals. His four-gold performance in Milano Cortina set the record for the most Para cross country gold medals won by a Team USA athlete at a single Paralympic Games.
