Earlier this week, TIME made the announcement of Caitlin Clark as their 2024 Athlete of the Year.
For the interview, Clark sat down with TIME’s Sean Gregory, where she spoke at-length about her record-breaking year for the very first time. In his introduction, Gregory wrote, “Good luck naming another player who altered the trajectory of their entire team sport within five months on the job. Lionel Messi had a monumental influence on Major League Soccer when he arrived in Miami last year, but he was in year 20 of his pro career.”
He continued, “Michael Jordan energized the NBA in the mid-1980s, but Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had already put the league on solid footing. While other female athletes have pushed the limits of human achievement and created their own cultures—Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and the stars of the U.S. women’s national soccer team all come to mind—the Clark phenomenon is still unprecedented.”
Record-breaking achievements aside, here are the best highlights from Clark’s interview.
Caitlin Clark is TIME’s Athlete of the Year https://t.co/WtgLuIIYhb pic.twitter.com/oGDewhUPcB
— TIME (@TIME) December 10, 2024
Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese rivalry
“I don’t get that at all…We’re not best friends, by any means, but…
