By U.S. Ski Team

Eight 2010 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley), a 2010 double Olympic silver medalist and 2006 Olympic gold medalist highlight the heavy hitting list of athletes nominated for 2010 ESPY Awards.

Also up for awards are gold medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail), Bode Miller (Franconia, NH), Shaun White (Carlsbad), Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), Alana Nichols (Farmington, NM) and Stephani Victor (Park City), along with Paralympic bronze medalist Andy Soule (Pearland, TX).

Julia Mancuso

The ESPYs will be hosted by Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers and broadcast live on ESPN from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on July 14 at 6pm. Winners are determined by popular vote and polling is now open.

Vonn, whose record shattering 2010 season included the Olympic gold medal for downhill and a bronze in super G in addition to capturing her third consecutive Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall title, is nominated in the Best Female Athlete category and Best Female U.S. Olympic Athlete.

Fellow Olympic gold medalist White is also up for ESPYs in two categories with nods for Best Male Action Sports Athlete and Best Male U.S. Olympic Athlete after defending his 2006 Olympic halfpipe gold.

Joining White in the Best Male U.S. Olympic Athlete division is Miller, who captured a royal flush of medals in Vancouver with bronze in downhill, followed by super G silver and a dramatic gold medal in super combined.

Mancuso’s stunning silver medals in downhill and super combined notched her a spot in the Best Female U.S. Olympic Athlete category joining Vonn and Kearney, the women’s moguls gold medalist.

Beijing wheelchair basketball gold medalist turned first-time winter Olympian Nichols rolled to a four-medal alpine skiing haul in Vancouver with gold in both downhill and giant slalom, plus silver in super G and bronze in super combined. With that, she became the first American woman to earn gold in summer and winter Paralympics and earned a slot in the Best Female Athlete with a Disability category along side teammate Victor.

A three-time Paralympian Victor carries a 2010 gold medal in super combined and silver medals in both super G and giant slalom into the category of Best Female Athlete with a Disability, while Soule, a military veteran, lands on the men’s side with a bronze medal in biathlon just five years after being introduces to nordic skiing.