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The 65-year-old, who as Bruce Jenner took gold at the 1976
Olympics in the decathlon, received the Arthur Ashe Courage
Award named after the late United States tennis star and
presented to "individuals whose contributions transcend sports".
Jenner received a standing ovation and gave an emotional
acceptance speech at the Los Angeles event, officially known as
the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Award.
"I trained hard, I competed hard and for that people respected
me but this transition has been harder on me than anything I
could have imagined and that's the case for so many others
besides me," Jenner said.
"For that reason alone trans people deserve something vital.
They deserve your respect."
The annual awards, presented by the sports cable network ESPN,
pay tribute to leading sports performers and performances of the
year.
"I know I'm clear in my responsibility in going forward," Jenner
said, thanking her family, which includes reality TV star Kim
Kardashian.
"To tell my story the right way, for me, to keep learning. To do
whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how trans issues are
viewed, how trans people are treated and then, more broadly, to
promote a very simple idea. Accepting people for who they are,
accepting people differently."
Jenner, who featured on the reality TV show "Keeping Up with the
Kardashians," will star in a documentary chronicling her new
life as a woman.
Others honoured at the awards include the U.S. women's soccer
team, basketball players Lebron James and Stephen Curry as well
as retired NY Yankees player Derek Jeter.
(Additional reporting by Reuters Television in Los Angeles;
Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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