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2009 Laureus nominations
2009-04-16 16:02
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Johannesburg - A glittering collection of the world’s greatest sports stars have been nominated for the 10th Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by the world’s media.
Many of the nominations reflect the highly successful Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Beijing.
Among the major contests between Olympians for Laureus Awards which have been triggered by the votes of the media from 112 countries are:
• The Fastest Man on Earth Usain Bolt against swimming’s medal machine Michael Phelps for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year title
• Pole vault legend Yelena Isinbayeva competes with 5,000 & 10,000 metres double gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba for Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
• And there is a three-way battle for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award between the Chinese Olympic Team, the Jamaican Sprint Team and the British Cycle Team.
But it is by no means certain to be an Olympic walkover for the 2009 Laureus World Sports Awards. There are many other strong contenders after a scintillating year of sporting action.
In motor sport, Britain’s Lewis Hamilton became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion, Germany’s Sebastian Vettel was the youngest winner of a Grand Prix and Italy’s Valentino Rossi won his sixth senior Moto GP World Championship.
Football’s charismatic Cristiano Ronaldo and the Spain national team, which won the European Championship, have both been nominated, as has Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, who once again dominated women’s golf, and five-times Wimbledon winner Venus Williams.
Including Hamilton, Isinbayeva and Rossi, no fewer than eight previous recipients of Laureus Awards have been short-listed again. The others are Rafael Nadal, Kelly Slater, Shaun White, Tiger Woods and British football club Manchester United.
For American golfer Woods, it is a record eighth nomination, on this occasion in the Laureus Comeback category.
Among the other Olympians nominated are Chinese gymnast Zou Kai and swimmers Rebecca Adlington from Britain and Australia’s Stephanie Rice.
Holland’s Maarten van der Weijden, who won an Olympic swimming gold medal after beating leukaemia, and Australian silver medallist Anna Meares, who broke her neck in a cycle crash just eight months before the Olympics, are among the nominees for the Laureus Comeback Award.
Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, 20, is nominated for the Laureus Disability Award for the second year after he was leading medal winner at the Beijing Paralympic Games, while legendary American surfer Kelly Slater, 36, is nominated for Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after winning a ninth world title.
The full list of nominees for the 2009 Laureus World Sports Awards is:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year:
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) – first man to win 100m, 200m & 4x100m Olympic gold medals in world records
Lewis Hamilton (UK) - youngest ever Formula One World Champion at 23 years and 300 days
Rafael Nadal (Spain) – won French Open, Wimbledon & Olympic gold medal to become tennis No.1
Michael Phelps (US) – won eight gold medals in a single Olympiad to overtake Mark Spitz’s record
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – FIFA World Player of the Year, scored 42 goals for Manchester United
Valentino Rossi (Italy) - beat Giacomo Agostini’s record 68 500cc wins, and won 6th senior world title
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year:
Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) –became first woman to win 5,000m & 10,000m double at same Olympics
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) – created her 24th world record in Beijing to win the pole vault gold medal
Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) – won seven tournaments in 2008, was almost $1m ahead on money list
Stephanie Rice (Australia) – won three swimming gold medals in Beijing; set 5 world records in 2008
Lindsey Vonn (US) – won Alpine World Cup title, also World Cup discipline leader in downhill
Venus Williams (US) – won her 5th Wimbledon title in 2008, also won Olympic doubles gold medal
Laureus World Team of the Year:
Boston Celtics (US) – beat Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA play-offs for a record 17th time
China Olympic Team – best ever Olympic result, led medals table with 51 gold, 21 silver, 28 bronze
Great Britain Olympic Cycle Team – dominated the Beijing velodrome with 8 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze
Jamaica Olympic Sprint Team – beat US favourites for a near clean sweep of Olympic sprint medals
Manchester United (UK) - won third European Champions League and also English Premier League
Spain Football Team - won European Championship, their first major title for 44 years Laureus World
Breakthrough of the Year:
Rebecca Adlington (UK) - 19, unknown at the start of the year, won Olympic 400m & 800m freestlye
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 21, won his first Grand Slam tennis title at the Australian Open Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) – 20, won first Grand Slam at French Open, was tennis World No.1 for 9 weeks
Anthony Kim (US) – 23, won two US PGA events, and was star of US Ryder Cup win Sebastian Vettel (Germany) – youngest ever F1 Grand Prix winner, at 21 years, 73 days, at Monza
Zou Kai (China) - won three gymnastic gold medals in Beijing on his Olympic debut Laureus World Comeback of the Year
Vitali Klitschko (Ukraine) – regained World Heavyweight Championship at 37 after four years out
Anna Meares (Australia) – won Olympic silver medal eight months after breaking neck in cycle crash
Greg Norman (Australia) – finished 3rd in British Open golf at the age of 53, while on his honeymoon
Matthias Steiner (Germany) – won weightlifting Olympic gold a year after his wife died in car crash
Maarten van der Weijden (Netherlands) - won Olympic swimming gold medal after beating leukaemia
Tiger Woods (US) - returned two months after serious knee injury to win US Open golf championship Laureus World
Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability:
Daniel Dias (Brazil) – 20, leading swimmer at Paralympics with 4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals
April Holmes (US) – world’s fastest female amputee, won 100 metres at Paralympics Darren Kenny (UK) – Paralympic cyclist who won 4 gold and 1 silver medals in Beijing.
Jonas Jacobsson (Sweden) – has won a shooting gold medal in the eight Paralympics since 1980 Teresa Perales (Spain) – won 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals in Paralympic swimming
Zhang Lixin (China) - became the local hero in Beijing with four wheelchair racing gold medals Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year
Julien Absalon (France) - became first man to defend Olympic cross-country mountain bike title
Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) - won surfing world title in rookie year 2007, and also 2008
Aaron Hadlow (UK) – 19, won PKRA kiteboarding world tour for fifth straight time Tanner Hall (US) – now the most successful Winter X Games athlete ever with seven gold medals
Kelly Slater (US) - At 36, legendary surfing master Kelly Slater won his ninth world title
Shaun White (US) – snowboarder, won Winter X Games Superpipe and bronze Slopestyle.