Florida Among States with People’s Choice Awards Nominees for “The Athlete”

Florida Among States with People’s Choice Awards Nominees for “The Athlete”
Fact Checked by Nate Hamilton

One of America’s longest-running awards shows returns to the small screen later this month, as the 2024 People’s Choice Awards returns for its 49th iteration, with Peacock and NBC airing this year’s event live.  

Of the myriad categories that will be handed out come Feb. 18 inside the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, one that many will be talking about in the days and weeks after the 2024 event is for the top athlete in the world at the moment.  

The 49th annual People’s Choice Awards will celebrate and announce winners on Feb. 18. Under the “Pop Culture” category, the worldwide public voted for their favorite athlete of the year.  

FloridaBet.com took a quick break from Florida sports betting updates and used the People’s Choice Awards nominee section under “The Athlete” award to figure out which U.S. states had the greatest amount of nominees. Out of the eight total nominees, four were from Ohio – LeBron James, Simone Biles, Stephen Curry, and Travis Kelce – one was from Florida – Coco Gauff – and one was from California – Sabrina Ionescu.  

People’s Choice Awards Nominees for “The Athlete”

Even if Florida sportsbook apps were legal, you might not find odds for the award show. Here’s where Florida’s nominees for the People’s Choice Awards in 2024 stack up versus the rest of the field.

State Percentage Nominees
Ohio 50% LeBron James, Simone Biles, Steph Curry, Travis Kelce
California 12.5% Sabrina Ionescu
Florida 12.5% Coco Gauff
Other (Non U.S.) 25% Lionel Messi, Giannis Antetokounmpo

Florida Well Represented At 2024 People’s Choice Awards

Of the eight nominees for the award show’s athletes category, one comes from the Sunshine State, in women’s tennis superstar Coco Gauff, who is currently the third-ranked player in the world.  

The 19-year-old Delray Beach native is coming off a 2023 calendar in which she won her first Majors title at the U.S. Open, beating No. 2 player Aryna Sabalenka in the finals, two sets to one. This was after reaching the third round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.  

The seven-time WTA tour winner has won 185 of her 268 matches over the last six years, posting a career singles win percentage of 69% on the sport’s biggest stage.  

In winning the 2023 U.S. Open, Gauff became the first American teenager to capture the championship since Serena Williams in 1999, in the same month (August) that she also picked up her first WTA 500 singles title at the Washington Open.  

All that allowed Gauff to take the stage in Santa Monica later this month as the state of Florida’s lone representative among the eight athletes that are up for the event’s sports-related accolade, joining a who’s who of sporting superstars that are up for the award in 2024.  

The topic of sports betting in the Sunshine State continues to make waves. FloridaBet.com will stay on top of the latest news for you so stick with us. Our experts are still tracking the possible Florida sportsbook promos that could be available when sports betting is finally made legal. 

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan writes for FloridaBet.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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