The 2018 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team, Olympian Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (Grand Forks, N.D.) and Paralympian Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) have each received nominations for the 2018 ESPY Awards, ESPN announced today. The winners will be determined by fan voting and presented at The ESPYs July 18 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. Fan voting is open now at ESPN.com/ESPYS and runs to July 18.
The ESPYs (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) is an annual award show that honors sports and athletic achievement, both on an individual and team basis.
The U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team has three nominations for 2018 ESPYS following its first gold medal in 20 years at the Olympic Winter Games. In addition to being nominated for Best Team, the team also received nominations for Best Game and Best Olympic Moment for its triumphant shootout victory in the gold medal game against Canada.
At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team defeated Canada, 3-2, in a shootout to win the gold medal on Thursday, Feb. 22, in Gangneung, South Korea. Leading up to the gold medal, Team USA carried a 3-1 victory over Finland, 5-0 win over Olympic Athletes from Russia, and a 2-1 loss to Canada in preliminary play before topping Finland, 5-0, in the semifinals. It marked Team USA's second ever gold medal after Team USA earned the inaugural gold medal in the event at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team has medaled in all six Olympic appearances to date (gold – 1998, 2018; silver – 2002, 2010, 2014 and bronze – 2006).
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson is nominated for Best Female Olympian after collecting five points (4-1) in five games, including the game-winning shootout goal in the gold-medal game against Canada. Lamoureux-Davidson, who was named to the Media All-Star Team for her performance, placed second among all tournament skaters with four goals while sharing the team lead in points with Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.). Lamoureux-Davidson also set an Olympic record for the fastest two goals scored in Olympic history, when she scored two goals six seconds apart in preliminary round play vs. Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Declan Farmer is nominated for Best Male Athlete with a Disability for the second time in his career after winning the honor in 2014. In the gold medal game at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, this past March, Farmer scored the game-tying goal with 37 seconds remaining before tallying the golden goal three minutes into overtime to give the U.S. its third consecutive Paralympic gold medal (2010, 2014, 2018). Farmer, who won gold with Team USA in 2014, led the tournament in goals with 11, which matched both the U.S. and Paralympic records for most goals in a single Paralympic Winter Games. Farmer's 17 points also tied teammate Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) with the tournament lead. In addition, his 14 Paralympic career goals is also a U.S. Paralympic record.
NOTES: Two other Paralympic Sled Hockey players have won the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY, including goaltender Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) in 2010 and forward Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) in 2014. Josh Sweeney (Phoenix, Ariz.), who scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, was also honored during the 2014 ESPYS when he received the inaugural Pat Tillman Award for Service for his dedication to his country and helping others.