HOTTEST COMPETITION EVER FOR
NOMINATION FOR LAUREUS
WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
- Usain Bolt v Michael Phelps lined up for the Battle of the Olympians
- Other Olympic heroes in contention include Mo Farah, LeBron James, David Rudisha, Sun Yang and Bradley Wiggins
- Rory McIlroy, Lionel Messi and Sebastian Vettel also among contenders
- Laureus Global Media Selection Panel to vote for SIX Nominees
- Laureus World Sports Awards to be held in Rio de Janeiro on March 11, 2013
LONDON, November 28, 2012 – A spectacular
year of sport has set up one of the most exciting contests ever for the 2013
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, including the ultimate Olympic
battle – Usain Bolt v Michael Phelps.
Jamaica sprint king Usain Bolt
confirmed his title of ‘fastest man on Earth’ when he won 100 metres, 200
metres and 4 x 100 metres Olympic gold medals in London to repeat his success
from Beijing in 2008 – a feat never achieved before. Regarded by many as the
greatest sprinter of all time, he could win his third Laureus World Sportsman
of the Year Award, having already been honoured in 2009 and 2010.
And American Michael Phelps made history when he became the most decorated Olympian of all
time, winning four gold and two silver medals to take his career total of
medals won to 22 – made up of 18 gold, two silver and two bronze. In London, he
became the first man ever to win an Olympic swimming title – 100m butterfly and
200m medley – at three Olympiads.
But it is by no means certain to be an
Olympic walkover. There are many other strong contenders for Nomination from
non-Olympic sports. In motor sport, Sebastian Vettel won his third Formula One
World Championship, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy topped the money list of both
European and US golf tours and the irrepressible Lionel Messi overtook Pele’s
75 goals scored in a calendar year.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is
recognised as the premier honours event in the international sporting calendar
and the Awards Ceremony provides a high profile focus as stars of the sporting
world come together to salute the finest sportsmen and sportswomen of the year.
The winners will be unveiled during a globally televised Awards Ceremony in Rio
de Janeiro.
Proceeds from
the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports more than 100 community
sports projects around the world that have helped to improve the lives of over
one-and-a-half million young people.
The Olympic
Games in London produced many superb performances. Mo Farah joined athletics
greats such as Zatopek, Kuts, Viren and Bekele as winner of the Olympic 5,000
and 10,000 metres double in London. He thrilled the home crowd with
powerful finishes over the last lap to become the first Briton to win gold
medals over both distances.
LeBron James joined
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as the only players in basketball history to
have won an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. He was named Most
Valuable Player in Miami Heat’s victory in the NBA Finals over Oklahoma City
and in London became the United States’ all-time leading
points scorer with 273.
Britain’s Bradley Wiggins became the only
cyclist to win the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.
He became the first Briton to win the Tour in July and followed this up one
month later with an emotional gold medal ride in front of ecstatic home
supporters in the Olympic Time Trial in London. Wiggins has now won seven Olympic
medals, including four golds.
American David Boudia beat Chinese favourite Qiu
Bo, the world champion, to win the Olympic gold medal in the 10 metre platform
diving. It was the first men’s Olympic diving gold for the US since Greg
Louganis in 1988. Boudia also won a bronze in the synchronised 10 metre
platform.
Regarded as the greatest
badminton player of all time, China’s Lin Dan became the first man to win back-to-back
Olympic singles gold medals to follow his success in Beijing. In 2012 he also became
the first man in 33 years to win the All England Open five times, plus he won a
fifth German Open.
German
discus thrower Robert Harting won the Olympic gold medal in London to go with his 2009 and
2011 World Championship titles. Harting’s Olympic success meant he
was unbeaten in 29 competitions. He famously hurdled down the track, set up for
the women’s 100 metres hurdles finals, to celebrate.
Chris Hoy was one of the members of
the British cycle team who dominated the London Olympic Games. Hoy
carried the British flag at the Opening Ceremony, then won gold medals in
the keirin and team sprint to take his career total to six, a
British record. He also won gold in the keirin in the World Track Cycling
Championships – his 11th world title.
France’s Teddy Riner established himself as the
greatest judoka in the world at the age of just 23, after beating Russia’s
Alexander Mikhaylin to win an Olympic gold medal in the +100kg category in
London. He is also a record six-time world champion.
Away from the
Olympic Games, brilliant Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy, 23, established himself as world No 1, topping the
money list in Europe and the United States. In August he won the USPGA
Championship by eight shots, his second Major victory. He was a key member of
the European Ryder Cup team which beat the US at Medinah and became the first European to win four USPGA Tour events in a season.
Germany’s Sebastian Vettel won
his third straight Formula One World Championship, clinching the title in the
very last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. Only the
great Juan Manuel Fangio, who won four straight championships between 1954 and
1957 and Michael Schumacher, with five titles between 2000 and 2004, have a
better record of consecutive titles. The key to Vettel’s success came in
September when his Red Bull car was upgraded. This resulted in four straight wins in Singapore, Japan, Korea
and India.
It was another prolific goalscoring year from Barcelona star Lionel Messi. In November, Messi scored
his 76th goal in a calendar year to move ahead of the great Pelé,
who scored 75 goals in 1958. At that time it left him just nine behind Gerd
Muller’s all-time record of 85 in 1972. In the 2011/12 season (which includes
some of the Laureus qualifying year), he scored 73 goals, breaking Muller’s
season record of 67 which dated back to 1972/73. He was also leading scorer in
the UEFA Champions League for the fourth straight year with 14 goals.
On the
last day of the 2011/12 season (which includes some of the Laureus qualifying
year), Cristiano Ronaldo scored for
Real Madrid against Mallorca to become the first player to score against every
team in a single season in La Liga. He finished the season with 36 league goals
and 60 goals in all competitions, breaking the Real Madrid record. He won the
La Liga player of the season award. Ronaldo also captained Portugal to the semi-finals
of the 2012 European Championships.
France’s
remarkable Sebastian Loeb won his
record ninth consecutive World Rally Championship, appropriately at the Rallye
de France. He clinched the championship two rounds early. He also holds the
record for most points, most wins and most podium finishes.
The dominant
cricketer of the year, Kumar Sangakkara
is a talented batsman, wicket-keeper and former captain of Sri Lanka. In 2012
he won no fewer than three International Cricket Council awards - Cricketer of
the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and People's Choice. In 14 Test matches,
during the 12-month voting period which ended in August, he scored 1,444 runs,
including five centuries and in 37 One Day Internationals, he scored 1,457 runs
with three centuries.
The Laureus World Sports Awards recognise sporting
achievement during 2012. The names of the six Nominees for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
Award, as voted by the Laureus Media Selection Panel, comprising leading sports
editors, sports writers, broadcasters and online journalists from around the
world, will be announced in Rio de Janeiro on December 13. The eventual winner
will then be chosen from this shortlist by the 46 members of the Laureus World
Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the greatest athletes of
today.
Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman and
Olympic legend Edwin Moses said: “I always feel in an Olympic year that you are
likely to see a strong group of potential Nominees and this year is certainly a
great example of that. The Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award is going to be
one of the closest contests ever when you look at the wonderful collection of
names we have. Of course you have the great stars like Usain Bolt and Michael
Phelps that everyone recognises, but this year we have some wonderful
achievements right across the whole range of sports, including basketball,
badminton, diving, football, golf, judo. The list goes on. Obviously the host
country Britain had a wonderful Olympic Games and I expect to see a lot of
votes for men like Mo Farah and Bradley Wiggins, but this year there is quality
everywhere.”
Among the
winners who have received Awards at previous Awards Ceremonies have been Novak
Djokovic, Roger Federer, Alex Ferguson, Lewis Hamilton, Rafael Nadal, Pele,
Oscar Pistorius, Steve Redgrave, Ronaldo, Michael Schumacher, Kelly Slater,
Serena Williams and Zinedine Zidane. Guests attending the Awards Ceremony have
included His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, David
and Victoria Beckham, Sean Connery, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones,
Morgan Freeman, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey,
Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy volunteer their
time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, whose mission is to use sport as the means to
combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today
such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness,
education and health problems such as obesity. Since its inception Laureus has
raised over €55 million to support projects around the world.
For further
information, please contact:
Gerald
Meier,
Head of
Global Communications
No comments:
Post a Comment