As a memorable 2024 comes to a close in the coming days, Caitlin Clark continues to add to her mantle of honors with the Associated Press (AP) recognizing the former Iowa women’s basketball legend and current Indiana Fever star as its 2024 Female Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
The AP specifically pointed to her tremendous advocacy for women’s sports and impact on and off the court as one of its reasonings for the honor.
During the 2024 calendar year, Clark finished the NCAA Division I career scoring record for both men’s and women’s basketball with 3,951 career points, led the Hawkeyes to their second consecutive National Championship Game appearance, selected No. 1 overall by the Fever in the WNBA draft, and won WNBA Rookie of the Year.
During her first year with the Fever, Clark helped draw sky-high attendance and viewership numbers, which generated an uptick in competition throughout the league as a result.
Off the court, Clark remained in the spotlight through numerous endorsements, such as her recent State Farm advertisement, and even helped shed light on other women’s sports throughout the summer and into the fall.
Of the 74 sports journalists from The Associated Press and its members that voted to decide the award, Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles came in second with 25, and boxer Imane Khelif landed third with four votes.
Clark now enters an exclusive club as the fourth women’s basketball player to be honored as the female athlete of the year since it was first presented in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995), and Candace Parker (2008, 2021).
“I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who came before me and to be honored in this way, is super special and I’m thankful,” Clark said in a phone interview.
“It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.”
Clark will start the new year with a celebration early on as the Iowa Hawkeyes’ women’s basketball team is set to retire her No. 22 to the rafters of Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 2 vs. USC.