You'll Love Who Sports Illustrated Named High School Athlete of the Year

On Monday Sports Illustrated named Hunter Gandee its High School Athlete of the Year for all of the work he’s done raising awareness for cerebral palsy.

Hunter is a sophomore at Bedford High in Temperance, Michigan, and he’s a standout member of his school’s varsity wrestling team. Earlier this year he carried his 9-year-old brother Braden on his back over the course of a three-day, a 57-mile walk, dubbed the CP Swagger.

The previous year the two completed a two-day, 40-mile walk, and with the funds they raised from that, they opened CP Swagger Shipyard, an inclusive and accessible playground at Braden’s elementary school in Lambertville, Michigan. The goal of the walks was to raise awareness, not money, but donations quickly came pouring in. To date the brothers have raised around $200,000, according to Sports Illustrated.

In the SI video above, both brothers open up about their bond.

“We’re not superhuman, we’re just two brothers,” Hunter says at the end of the powerful clip. “And, we had an idea. And the only difference from us and a lot of other kids is that we went out and tried it.”

“He’s made a lot of change in the world, and he’s just one high school kid,” Braden adds. “So if everyone could be like that, then the world will be a great place.”

Gandee will be honored at Sports Illustrated’s awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday.