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American swimmer Katie Ledecky is AP female athlete of year for second time

AP photo by Petr David Josek / U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky shows her gold medal after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle final on June 24 at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
AP photo by Petr David Josek / U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky shows her gold medal after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle final on June 24 at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary. AP photo by Petr David Josek / U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky shows her gold medal after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle final on June 24 at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.

By PAUL NEWBERRY / The Associated Press 6 min read

A change of scenery worked out just fine for Katie Ledecky.

Shifting coasts and coaches after the Tokyo Olympics in summer 2021, the American swimmer turned in another stellar performance at this year’s world championships and set a pair of world records at other events.

Now she’s the AP female athlete of the year for 2022, selected by a panel of 40 sports writers and editors from news outlets across the country.

Ledecky, who also won the award in 2017, edged out American track star Sydney McLaughlin in balloting announced Wednesday. The two tied in total points, but Ledecky got the nod based on 10 first-place votes to McLaughlin’s nine. WNBA star A’ja Wilson finished third.

“I know so many great athletes have won this honor,” the 25-year-old Ledecky said. “I’m really happy — happy with how my year went and also excited about the future.”