President Joe Biden announced this year’s recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday morning. Among the honorees are athletes, actors and many more – including Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Olympian Simone Biles.
As always, the list of recipients will be honored for their achievements in their respective fields and their work for the country as a whole.
Biden’s announcement praised Biles for being “a prominent advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system and victims of sexual assault,” while applauding Washington for his work as the National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 25 years.
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe joins Biles, her fellow Team USA Olympian, on the list of honorees, and was hailed as “a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights.”
Biden will also award medals of freedom posthumously to the late John McCain and Steve Jobs. “His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries,” the announcement said of Jobs.
You can check out the full list of recipients here.