Caitlin Clark becomes the first two-time Sullivan Award honoree | National

Caitlin Clark, who broke NCAA single-season and career women’s basketball records in an outstanding senior season at Iowa, set another record Tuesday. The 22-year-old Iowa native became the first-ever two-time winner of the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which annually honors the nation’s top amateur athlete. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) has presented the Sullivan Award since 1930, when golfer Bobby Jones was the first honoree. Last year, Clark became the first women’s basketball player to be the sole recipient of the Sullivan Award since Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw was recognized in 1998. Since then, four other women’s basketball players have shared the award: Georgia’s Coco Miller and Kelly Miller in 1999, UConn’s. Breanna Stewart (along with Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds) in 2015 and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu (along with Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee) in 2019. The other Sullivan Award finalists this year were U.S. Paralympic swimmer Noah Jaffe, Team USA gymnast Frederick Richard, Texas volleyball player Madisen Skinner, Olympic skater Emery Lehman and Olympic wrestler David Taylor. Clark said of receiving the award again: “The AAU Sullivan Award is an incredible honor. I have been inspired by so many athletes who have come before me and I hope I can be that same inspiration for the next generation to follow their dreams. I would like to congratulate the other finalists and thank everyone who voted for me.” Clark shattered the NCAA mark with 1,234 points and 201 three-pointers in the just-concluded season, leading Iowa to the national title game for the second straight year. She also set national career records with 3,951 points and 548 treys. She also drew record attendance at Hawkeyes games home and away, and her presence was a key factor in the Women’s Final Four that generated record television ratings. Clark was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever on April 15, and her selection set record TV numbers. Previous Sullivan Award winners include Wilma Rudolph (1961), Bill Bradley (1965), Mark Spitz (1971), Bill Walton (1973), Carl Lewis (1981), Janet Evans (1989), Peyton Manning (1997), Michael Phelps (2003), Tim Tebow (2007) and Shawn Johnson (2008). –Field-level media