Megan Rapinoe has been named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, becoming only the fourth woman in the award's 66-year history to do so.
The announcement has capped off a huge year for the U.S. women's football star, who is married to WNBA's Seattle Storm player Sue Bird.
Having lead the U.S. Women's National Team to a fourth World Cup championship, Rapinoe consistently made headlines in 2019 as she pushed for equal pay to the U.S. Men's National Team, tackled sexism in the sporting world, and publicly declined an invitation to the White House.
Rapinoe was also honoured at last month's Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year event, where she used her acceptance speech to thank Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback sidelined since 2017 for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of systemic racism, saying, “I don’t feel like I would be here without” him.
According to CBS Sports, Rapinoe now joins sporting legends Chris Evert, Mary Decker and Serena Williams, as the only women to be named Sportsperson of the Year.
"She owned the biggest moment of her life and silenced all the doubters, all while becoming a voice for so many across the world," Sports Illustrated tweeted this morning, making the announcement.
The iconic magazine also shared the cover of the issue, which features Rapinoe posing with a sledgehammer.
"I couldn't have done it without the fans. This award is for all of you."
On Instagram, Rapinoe wrote: "While we do not get to choose what we see or what happens around us, and sometimes to us and others, we do get to choose how we bear witness to it."
