Congratulations to USA Women’s Soccer star, Abby Wambach for being named AP Female Athlete of the Year. Abby helped lead the U.S. soccer team to a runner-up finish and help revive America’s interest in women’s soccer. The 31-year old Wambach is the first individual soccer player, man or woman, to be win one of the AP’s annual sports awards, which began in 1931. She collected 65 of the 214 votes cast. A distant second in the voting was Wambach’s teammate, Hope Solo (38 votes).

Wambach is a competitive yet humble athlete. I had the opportunity to meet Abby at the ESPN W + Women’s Summit this summer and you could feel her passion when she spoke. It’s not an act it’s who she is as evident in her comments to the Associated Press. “I’m not a person who cares much about (individual) awards, but I really appreciate you guys recognizing this team,” Wambach said. “It helps keep this sport alive, and it’s really important.”

Read more on ESPNw.com.

Lead photo via AP youtube video show within.

U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team goalkeeper Hope Solo is known for being an intense and outspoken athlete. She recently did a stint on Dancing with the Stars and made it into the final rounds of competition. Ultimately, she was voted off and after exiting the show she did an interview with Anderson Cooper. Hope spoke very candidly about being on the hit ABC show and what the judges thought of her.

“I was told I had too much muscle and I was too intense and wasn’t very dainty,” Solo said. As she goes on to mention in the interview… Um ya, she’s a professional female athlete so of course she’s going to have some muscle.

It’s all relative. Many of you reading this will think, what the… she doesn’t have too much muscle. As you can see in the ESPN BODY issue, Hope is obviously muscular but she’s also lean. Is this a look that most of America deems “too muscular”? Likely but most of America is also overweight.

The thing Hope brings to the table that many other athletes lack is her personality. She’s not only a world-class athlete but she’s not afraid to show her personality. Many times she’s unfiltered and it resonates with people. You either love her or despise her and there’s usually little gray area. It’s smart self-promotion on her part because it’s authentic.

ESPN asked Hope, “Have you ever felt self-conscious?”

She said, “I used to be self-conscious mostly about my arms and shoulders — they’re so broad, people assumed I was a swimmer or a volleyball player. It was difficult for me to wear a halter dress or a small tank top; I thought the first things people would see were my arms and shoulders. I remember trying to get out of lifting weights in college because I didn’t want to bulk up. I would do more reps to avoid putting on too much muscle mass. Or I would skip certain power exercises like cleans — I always tried to get out of cleans — and dead lifts. But now, it’s my arms and my shoulders that I’m most proud of. I appreciate my athletic look.”

So the question remains, is muscle marketable to mainstream? We say yes but it will takes a shift in perception and what “too muscular” means.

What do you think, is Hope too muscular?