Michael Phelps won five ESPY awards, including male athlete of the year, and thus broke the reign of five years of Tiger Woods, who earned his 22nd trophy in these awards. The Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa won the award for best international female athlete, while the Dominican Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals, was named the best player in baseball.

The winner of 14 Olympic gold medals, also won trophies Wednesday night that broke performance records, the performance in a men’s championship and Olympic athletes, while he shared the prize for the best time for the victory in the 400 meters freestyle relay at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing, breaking Mark Spitz record had been 36 years, seven gold medals in one Olympics.

Phelps surpassed the main category the golfer Woods, the NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.

Woods was chosen best golfer of the year, Bryant was with his fellow champions Los Angeles Lakers to the best team award and James was the best player in the NBA.

Nastia Liukin, Olympic champion in the discipline of artistic gymnastics individual, won the award for female athlete of the year.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela received the Arthur Ashe Award for Valor. Her daughter and grandson Zindzi Mandela Zondwa Mandela accepted the award from the hands of the presenters Serena and Venus Williams.