Lindsey Vonn Tops Zenyatta for 2010 AP Female Athlete of the Year As Horse Is Again Runner-Up

by Nick Coman on Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 10:58AM

Lindsey Vonn has had a good couple of weeks. She has not only won two consecutive World Cup Skiing events, but she can now add AP Female Athlete of the Year to her resume — something no skier has ever been able to say before.

"It couldn't have gone any better for me. Even if I just won the Olympic gold medal, that would have made it the best year of my career and the best day of my life, period. Winning the World Cup races and the overall title just topped it off," the German-American skier said.

Vonn received 77 of 175 votes, more than any other candidate, according to SportsIllustrated.com, but who did she beat?

Not Connecticut women's hoops star Maya Moore — she finished third. Vonn's runner up was Zenyatta, the six-year-old horse who recently lost her final career race. In fact, while Zenyatta was 19-1 overall, she went just 5-1 in 2010 and still managed to compile 32 votes in her favor.

This was the horse's second straight runner-up performance. She finished behind Serena Williams for the award in 2009.

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Comment of the day

There's a lot to do during the holiday season — enough to make you forget to sign players and make trades, apparently.

"I wonder what Brian Cashman is doing to keep himself busy this winter. Must be playing Call of Duty or something. Do you think he knows yet?"
–BWonder