VOTING ENDS SATURDAY, JULY 11. CLICK HERE TO VOTE
2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin, 2008 Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Shawn Johnson, and 2004 Olympic silver-medalist Courtney Kupets are nominees for 2009 ESPY Awards, ESPN’s fan-voted awards that honor the best achievements, moments and leading athletes of the previous year. Fans will determine the ESPY winners in 37 categories through online (www.espys.tv) and mobile phone voting (www.espn.mobi) that runs through July 11.
Liukin and Johnson were each nominated for two ESPYs. Liukin joins tennis star Serena Williams, Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBA MVP Candace Parker, Olympic gold medal swimmer Natalie Coughlin, and Connecticut basketball player and NCAA player of the year Maya Moore as nominees for “Best Female Athlete.” Johnson is a nominee for “Best Breakthrough Performance” along with Tampa Bay Rays third-baseman, MLB Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria; Chicago Bulls point guard, NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose; and Atlanta Falcon quarterback, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan.
Both Liukin and Johnson were nominated in the "Best U.S. Female Olympian" category, along with swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin and gold medal hurdler Dawn Harper.
Kupets, winner of the 2009 Honda-Broderick Cup, was nominated in the “Best Female College Athlete” category after a record-setting senior year at the University of Georgia.
The ESPY Awards will be presented July 15 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, with the taped show airing July 19 on ESPN. Actor Samuel L. Jackson will host.
For a complete list of 2009 ESPY nominees, click here or via mobile phone at www.espn.mobi. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11.