The 2007 ESPY Awards will air July 15 at 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md./swimming) and Stephani Victor (Park City, Utah/alpine skiing) are nominees for Best Female Athlete with a Disability and Joshua George (Champaign, Ill./track & field & men’s wheelchair basketball) and Casey Tibbs (San Diego, Calif./track & field) are nominees for Best Male Athlete with a Disability.

The ESPY Awards recognize outstanding achievements and performances by athletes during the previous year. Voting is now open, so be sure to vote for your favorite Paralympic athlete at espn.go.com/espy2007/.

The 2007 ESPY awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Lebron James, will take place July 11 and air July 15 at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Nominees for Best Female Athlete with a Disability:

Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md./swimming)

U.S. Paralympian (2004) Jessica Long , 15, a bilateral below-the-knee amputee, had a spectacular 2006 season, highlighted by her performance at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa, in December, where she won nine gold medals and set five world records in the S8 classification: 100m freestyle (1:07.03), 400m freestyle (4:53.14), 100m butterfly (1:13.25), 200m Individual Medley (2:43.60) and the 34-point 4x100m freestyle relay.
 
This year, Long became the first Paralympic athlete to win the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented to the USA’s best amateur athlete. Long has also been honored as the U.S. Olympic Committee's 2006 Paralympian of the Year and Swimming World Magazine's 2006 Disabled Swimmer of the Year.

Stephani Victor (Park City, Utah/alpine skiing)

Two-time U.S. Paralympian (2002, 2006) Stephani Victor, a bilateral above-the-knee amputee, had a standout 2006-2007 season. The reigning Paralympic slalom gold medalist won her first World Cup overall title in 2007, in addition to her first World Cup giant slalom title and third World Cup slalom championship. The eight-time U.S. National Champion now has 14 career World Cup victories and is still going strong.

Nominees for Best Male Athlete with a Disability:

Joshua George (Champaign, Ill./track & field and wheelchair basketball)

U.S. Paralympian Joshua George (2004) won a total of five medals (four gold, one silver) at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands. George, a paraplegic, won gold in every individual event he entered: 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, while also setting a new World Championships record time of 26.86 in the 200m. He also won silver in the men’s 4x100m relay.
 
George, who is also a member of the 2006-2007 U.S. Paralympics Men’s Wheelchair Basketball National Team, won silver at the 2006 IPC Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Casey Tibbs (San Diego, Calif./track & field)

U.S. Paralympian (2004) Casey Tibbs, the first active duty member of the military to compete in a Paralympic Games, had a banner year in 2006. At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands, Tibbs clinched gold in the men’s T44 (lower leg amputee) pentathlon with 4,248 points. The pentathlon consists of five events:  long jump, shot put, 100m, discus and the 400m. Tibbs also won silver in the men’s T44 long jump with a leap of 6.12m.
 
In addition to his athletic agenda, Tibbs, 26, is a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. He has been in the Navy since 1999. Following the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, he was deployed to Afghanistan for eight months, where he worked as a cryptologic technician. He returned to the States, helped out with the 2005 Paralympic Military Sports Camp, and then headed on another deployment—this time to Sao Paulo, Brazil. When he returned home, he and his wife (who is also in the Navy) made the decision to move from San Antonio to San Diego, where Tibbs currently works at the Naval Medical Center, mentoring amputees returning from the conflict in Iraq. He splits time between the Medical Center and the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, where he is part of the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Residence Program.

Other candidates in the women’s category are Esther Vergeer (The Netherlands/wheelchair tennis) and Amy Winters (Meadville, Pa./marathon and triathlon). Robin Ammerlaan (The Netherlands/wheelchair tennis) and Krige Schabort (South Africa/wheelchair marathon) round out the men’s nominees.

The previous winners in the category of Best Athlete with a Disability are as follows:

2006:   Male: Bobby Martin –Football
              Female: Sarah Reinerstsen –Triathlon
2005:   Male: Marlon Shirley – Track and Field
              Female: Erin Popovich – Swimming
2004:   Kyle Maynard – Wrestling
2003:   Marlon Shirley – Track and Field
2002:   Erik Weihenmayer – Mountain Climbing