Katie Ledecky Named 2017 AP Female Athlete of the Year

Swimmer Katie Ledecky was named the 2017 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

According to the AP (h/t ESPN.com), Ledecky garnered 351 points in the voting, which placed her ahead of tennis star Serena Williams' 343 points and track athlete Allyson Felix's 248 points.

Ledecky's candidacy was bolstered by her performance at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, where she won five gold medals and one silver.

Ledecky finished second to gymnast Simone Biles in the voting last year after winning four golds and one silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Per the Associated Press, Ledecky became the eighth female swimmer to win the award and the first since Amy Van Dyken in 1996.

Ledecky considered it an honor to join the exclusive group, saying, "It's a really great history of women swimmers and freestylers. I really look up to a lot of those women."

The 20-year-old Stanford sophomore already has six Olympic medals to her credit when taking into account the gold she won in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Games at the age of 15.

Despite crushing the field this year in Budapest, she received a stiff challenge in the Female Athlete of the Year voting from Williams, who missed most of the year while pregnant.

Williams did win the 2017 Australian Open, though, during her pregnancy.

Ledecky is already one of the most decorated American female swimmers in history, and she is favored to net another huge haul at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which could put her in a swimming stratosphere occupied only by Michael Phelps.