Eli Tomac Wins First ESPY Award in the Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports Category - Speedway Digest

Among stiff category competition, Eli Tomac came up big at last night’s 2022 ESPY Awards Show by winning his first-ever ESPY Award in the Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports category. Hosted by ESPN, the ESPYs are the annual awards ceremony that recognizes the best athletes in the world and the past year’s major sporting achievements.

“I just want to say thank you for voting for me in the ESPY Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports category…we won it,” said Eli Tomac. “Thank you to all the Supercross fans around the world. We had an incredible 2022 season. None of this would be possible without the support of my family, my team, the crew, and everyone involved. As you know in motorsports, it’s hard enough just to make it to the starting line, so to clinch the championship this year was so special for everyone involved. I feel like this year was a great comeback year for myself as a rider, and as an athlete, and I’m enjoying it more than ever.”

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing athlete had an amazing Supercross season – winning seven of the 17 rounds with his new team. Tomac also landed on the podium four additional times while claiming his second Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Tomac’s seven race victories in 2022 bring his career total to 44, landing him in a tie for fourth with Chad Reed on the all-time Supercross wins list.

The Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports category included three Olympic Gold Medalists – American freestyle skier and 2022 Olympic Gold Medalist, Alexander Hall, Japanese skateboarder and 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist, Yuto Horigome, and Japanese snowboarder and 2022 Olympic Gold Medalist, Ayumu Hirano. Winning in this very competitive field further illustrates the depth and breadth of Tomac’s athletic accomplishments over his pro career.

Tomac’s remarkable year continues this summer as he also recently took over the points lead in the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. After seven rounds, Tomac leads over Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton in the 450 Class by a mere five points. Tomac can also list winning the Pro Motocross Championship three times (consecutively in 2017, 2018 and 2019) to his long list of career accomplishments.

This year marked the 30^th iteration of the ESPY Awards which were hosted last night by ESPY Award winner for Best NBA Player – Stephen Curry and broadcast live on ABC from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. Sports fans voted across 35 different categories for their favorite athletes, plays and sports moments from this past year.

Monster Energy AMA Supercross athletes are no stranger to the Men’s Action Sports category as the sport has long been recognized as the “original action sport.” Two-time Supercross Champion Cooper Webb was nominated last year following his second Supercross title (2021) and four-time Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey won the honor twice in consecutive years in 2015 and 2016.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.