Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the world of disabled sports . Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States Paralympic soccer player Eli Wolff , the accolade 's trophy , designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan , is presented to the disabled sportswoman adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles . The Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was first bestowed as part of the ESPY Awards in 2005 after the non-gender specific Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was presented the previous three years ( all won by sportsmen ) . Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee , which is composed of a panel of experts . It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months . The inaugural winner of the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award at the 2005 ceremony was American swimmer Erin Popovich , who is affected by achondroplasia . She won seven gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens . She is one of three people to have won the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award more than once , winning again at the 2009 awards . Fellow swimmer Jessica Long has the most victories of any other sportswoman , collecting the award three times at the 2007 , 2012 and 2013 awards with one further nomination at the 2009 ceremony , while cross-country skier Oksana Masters has been nominated the most times ( four ) without winning . Swimmers have been successful at the awards with eight victories and three nominations , followed by paratriathles with three wins and six nominations . The 2017 winner of the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is swimmer Rebecca Meyers . She achieved her second win after receiving the accolade at the 2015 ceremony . Currently , the accolade is held by American triathlete Allysa Seely after being announced as the winner at the 2019 ceremony
2015 ceremony
2015 ESPY Awards
Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award