Megan Rapinoe has won the Team Sportswoman of the Year at the Women's Sport Foundation's 40th annual salute.

The USA's World Cup winning captain beat softballer Rachel Garcia and ice hockey's Kendall Coyne Schofield to claim the gong at the ceremony in New York.

Ahead of collecting the award, the outspoken champion of women's equality in sport, said: "It's amazing to be honest. We [the US team] don't feel any different to anybody else, the team has been really successful and we're lucky to be able to do what we love while representing America which is a thing that grows the platform. 

The midfielder also spoke about her excitement over the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Rapinoe said: "I love Japanese culture and Japanese food, so I'm looking forward to that, kind of diving in, hopefully we'll be there for a long time.

"Hopefully [we will be] looking to do something that we haven't done before, to go back-to-back World Cup and Olympics, trying to get that gold medal."

Claressa Shields won the Individual Sportswoman of the Year award. The boxer beat stiff competition, with gymnast Simone Biles also nominated.

Shields had much to say about not being eligible for Tokyo 2020. She has two gold Olympic medals from London and Rio, but as she is now a professional she cannot compete.

The world champion said: "For me it's a little unfair, I know that in all the other sports they have their professionals going competing in the Olympics but boxing is different. 

"Yeah I would love to be a three-time Olympics gold medalist, why not, but it would kind of put them at a disadvantage because I fight without headgear. They only have three, three- minute rounds but they've never been hit without headgear, so I'm a little bit tougher."