Garcia-Tolson nominated for an Espy Award

Vote for Rudy Garcia-Tolson, Ironman's first double-amputee finisher, before July 10

After becoming the only double-leg amputee to finish an Ironman at Ford Ironman Arizona last year, Rudy Garcia-Tolson has been nominated for a prestigious ESPY award. You can help him win by voting for the Paralympian and paratriathlete before July 10th.

The 18th annual ESPYS will be hosted by Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers, who will be joined by an all-star lineup of top athletes and entertainers to celebrate the best sports stories of the year. The 2010 ESPYS will be televised live, for the first time since 2003, Wednesday, July 14 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPNHD from the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.

To vote for Garcia-Tolson, go to www.espys.tv, under the categories, scroll down to Male Athletes with a Disability and click on the vote tab under Garcia-Tolson's name.

Garcia-Tolson, a two-time gold medalist in the 200m IM at the Paralympics, attempted his first Ironman at the Ford Ironman World Championship last year. He missed the bike cutoff in Kona by just eight minutes. Five weeks later he tried again and made the bike cutoff in Tempe with lots of time and finished in just over 16 hours.

You can read more about Garcia-Tolson in one of the three athlete profiles below.

Related stories:
Lee Gruenfeld profiles

Kona pre-race profile

Post-Arizona profile

Kevin Mackinnon profile

Kevin Mackinnon Ironmanlife column