Caitlin Clark beats out Simone Biles for AP's female athlete of the year

Basketball star Caitlin Clark was named Tuesday the Associated Press' female athlete of the year, beating out U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif.

Khelif won a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, amid the Algerian boxer's gender being called into question following a disqualification from the 2023 International Boxing Association's Women's World Boxing Championships over gender-eligibility issues.

Clark grew to international prominence as a college athlete at the University of Iowa and holds the NCAA basketball scoring record. She was the first draft pick for the Women's NBA this year, in which she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. She has since set the single-game assist record with 19 and set the record for most assists in the season at 337 assists, the wire service also reports.

Clark is now only the fourth female basketball star to hold AP's coveted female athlete of the year title. 

“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 told the outlet. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.”

Baseball star Shohei Ohtani won AP Male Athlete of the Year for the third time on Monday.

The decision to name Clark the female athlete of the year was made by a group of 74 sports journalists from the Associated Press, and its members. Clark received 35 votes, while Biles, who won the female gymnast individual all-around this summer at the Paris Olympics, received 25 votes. Khelif received four votes.

“I’m thankful for the people I got to do [the year] with,” Clark said. “A year ago I was still in the early part of my senior year in college. ... How fast things change, and now I can see how great a college season it was.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.