Wrestler Kyle Maynard wins ESPY as “Best Athlete with a Disability”

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Various Sources ()
07/15/2004


from ESPN.com and other sources.    Kyle Maynard, the inspiring high school wrestler from Gwinnett, Ga., received the ESPY award for "Best Athlete with a Disability."    Winners were announced during the ESPY Awards on July 14 at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, Calif.     The ESPN telecast of the show will be held on July 18 at 9 p.m. ET.     Maynard was born March 24, 1986 with a rare disorder called, "Congenital Amputation," leaving him with three joints; a neck and two shoulders. He has no elbows or knees. He measures just over two feet tall and weighs approximately 103 pounds.    Despite his physical abnormalities, Maynard finished the 2003-04 season as one of the top high school wrestlers in Georgia (35-16), posting a 3-2 record at the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships and narrowly missing All-American status at the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships. Earlier this year, Maynard received the Courage Award at the Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame in New York City.    The winners for each of the categories were selected by the fans via ESPN.com and league site voting.  Many in the wrestling community participated in the online voting to support Maynard. Polls closed July 9.    Past wrestling ESPY winners include Cael Sanderson in 2002 for "Best Male College Athlete" and Rulon Gardner in 2001 for "Male USA Olympic Athlete." In 2003, Eric Larkin was nominated for "Best Male College Athlete."    The ESPY Awards were created by ESPN in 1993 and are given for Excellence in Sports Performance.    The 2004 ESPY Awards winners are:        Cross-cutter categories:  Best Female Athlete -- Diana Taurasi  Best Male Athlete -- Lance Armstrong  Best Team -- Detroit Pistons  Best Coach/Manager -- Larry Brown  Best Comeback -- Bethany Hamilton  Best Breakthrough -- LeBron James  Best Game -- Super Bowl: Patriots - Panthers  Best Record Breaking Performance -- Eric Gagne  Best Sports Movie -- Miracle  Best Male College Athlete -- Emeka Okafor  Best Female College Athlete -- Diana Taurasi  Best Moment -- Brett Favre  Best Male Action Sports Athlete -- Ryan Nyquist  Best Female Action Sports Athlete -- Dallas Friday  Best Athlete with a Disability -- Kyle Maynard  Best Outdoors Sports Athlete -- Tina Bosworth  Best Play -- New Orleans Saints' lateral  Best Upset -- Detroit Pistons  Best Championship Performance -- Phil Mickelson    Individual categories:  Best MLB Player -- Barry Bonds  Best NBA Player -- Kevin Garnett  Best WNBA Player -- Lauren Jackson  Best Bowler -- Pete Weber  Best Boxer -- Antonio Tarver  Best Driver -- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Best NFL Player -- Peyton Manning  Best Male Golfer -- Phil Mickelson  Best Female Golfer -- Annika Sorenstam  Best NHL Player -- Jarome Iginla  Best Jockey -- Stewart Elliott  Best Male Soccer Player -- David Beckham  Best Female Soccer Player -- Mia Hamm  Best Male Tennis Player -- Andy Roddick  Best Female Tennis Player -- Serena Williams  Best Male Track and Field Athlete -- Tom Pappas  Best Female Track and Field Athlete -- Gail Devers    Sponsored categories:  Under Armour Undeniable Performance Award - Brett Favre  GMC Professional Grade Award -- Steve McNair