Wrestler Kyle Maynard wins ESPY as “Best Athlete with a Disability”

from ESPN.com and other sources. Kyle Maynard, the inspiring high school wrestler from Gwinnett, Ga., received the ESPY award for "Best Athlete with a Disability." Winners were announced during the ESPY Awards on July 14 at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, Calif. The ESPN telecast of the show will be held on July 18 at 9 p.m. ET. Maynard was born March 24, 1986 with a rare disorder called, "Congenital Amputation," leaving him with three joints; a neck and two shoulders. He has no elbows or knees. He measures just over two feet tall and weighs approximately 103 pounds. Despite his physical abnormalities, Maynard finished the 2003-04 season as one of the top high school wrestlers in Georgia (35-16), posting a 3-2 record at the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships and narrowly missing All-American status at the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships. Earlier this year, Maynard received the Courage Award at the Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame in New York City. The winners for each of the categories were selected by the fans via ESPN.com and league site voting. Many in the wrestling community participated in the online voting to support Maynard. Polls closed July 9. Past wrestling ESPY winners include Cael Sanderson in 2002 for "Best Male College Athlete" and Rulon Gardner in 2001 for "Male USA Olympic Athlete." In 2003, Eric Larkin was nominated for "Best Male College Athlete." The ESPY Awards were created by ESPN in 1993 and are given for Excellence in Sports Performance. The 2004 ESPY Awards winners are: Cross-cutter categories: Best Female Athlete -- Diana Taurasi Best Male Athlete -- Lance Armstrong Best Team -- Detroit Pistons Best Coach/Manager -- Larry Brown Best Comeback -- Bethany Hamilton Best Breakthrough -- LeBron James Best Game -- Super Bowl: Patriots - Panthers Best Record Breaking Performance -- Eric Gagne Best Sports Movie -- Miracle Best Male College Athlete -- Emeka Okafor Best Female College Athlete -- Diana Taurasi Best Moment -- Brett Favre Best Male Action Sports Athlete -- Ryan Nyquist Best Female Action Sports Athlete -- Dallas Friday Best Athlete with a Disability -- Kyle Maynard Best Outdoors Sports Athlete -- Tina Bosworth Best Play -- New Orleans Saints' lateral Best Upset -- Detroit Pistons Best Championship Performance -- Phil Mickelson Individual categories: Best MLB Player -- Barry Bonds Best NBA Player -- Kevin Garnett Best WNBA Player -- Lauren Jackson Best Bowler -- Pete Weber Best Boxer -- Antonio Tarver Best Driver -- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Best NFL Player -- Peyton Manning Best Male Golfer -- Phil Mickelson Best Female Golfer -- Annika Sorenstam Best NHL Player -- Jarome Iginla Best Jockey -- Stewart Elliott Best Male Soccer Player -- David Beckham Best Female Soccer Player -- Mia Hamm Best Male Tennis Player -- Andy Roddick Best Female Tennis Player -- Serena Williams Best Male Track and Field Athlete -- Tom Pappas Best Female Track and Field Athlete -- Gail Devers Sponsored categories: Under Armour Undeniable Performance Award - Brett Favre GMC Professional Grade Award -- Steve McNair