BREAKING NEWS: Caitlin Clark Named 2024 AP Female Athlete of the Year, Beating Simone Biles and Imane Khelif.giang

It was Caitlin Clark’s world in 2024, and she was honored accordingly Tuesday.

Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press noted Clark was named the publication’s Female Athlete of the Year thanks to “her impact on and off the court.” The Indiana Fever star drew 35 of the 74 votes from a group of sports journalists from the AP.

A pair of Olympic gold medalists came in second in third place with gymnast Simone Biles landing 25 of the votes and boxer Imane Khelif receiving four of the votes.

Clark’s 2024 journey started in college where she led the Iowa Hawkeyes to their second straight national championship game all while breaking the NCAA Division I career scoring record for both men and women with 3,951 points.

Unsurprisingly, she became the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft and wasted no time establishing herself as a success at the next level.

She took home the Rookie of the Year and was an All-Star while averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals a game and shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep.

Clark also led the Fever to their first playoff appearance since the 2016 campaign and has them poised for long-term success even though they lost in the first round to the Connecticut Sun.

It wasn’t just her excellence on the court that stood out, though, as she helped elevate the popularity of women’s basketball at both the collegiate and WNBA levels to new heights. As Feinberg noted, WNBA television viewership increased by 300 percent during her rookie season, which came after the women’s NCAA championship game outdrew the men’s television ratings.

It was the first time in a 42-year history the women’s championship game outdrew the men’s title game.

That excitement went nowhere after she left Iowa, as the 2024 WNBA draft drew a league-record 2.4 million viewers. And she then played in 20 of the 23 WNBA games that drew more than 1 million viewers in her rookie campaign.

With millions viewing her games on television and in attendance at stadiums, Clark put up impressive performances that helped her become just the fourth women’s basketball player to win this coveted award.

She joined Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995) and Candace Parker (2008, 2021) as those who have received the honor.

“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 said. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.”

As for Biles, she further cemented her legacy as one of the greatest Olympians of all-time with three gold medals and a silver medal during the 2024 Paris Games. She won gold in the women’s all-around, women’s team and women’s vault competitions while capturing silver in the women’s floor event.

Khelif also took home a gold in Paris when she won the final of the women’s welterweight division in boxing. The triumph came after she faced false gender claims during the Olympics.