Though they are not always household names like those in other categories, nominees for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year are often some of the most exciting athletes in the world.
This year is no different and action sports as diverse as surfing to BMXing are represented in what is a closely run contest.
So, have a look at all six Nominees and be sure to let us know who you think should be crowned the winner.
JAMIE BESTWICK (United Kingdom) BMX
Jamie Bestwick
- Jamie Bestwick’s amazing season started just six months after a terrifying crash that fractured his skull and shattered both eye sockets. Nearly untouchable in the Halfpipe, he has dominated Vert competition for much of the last decade. At the X Games, Bestwick won his fifth straight gold medal and eighth overall in BMX Vert.
PHILIP KÖSTER (Germany) Windsurfing
Philip Koster
- Philip Köster became PWA Wave World Champion in September 2011 at the age of 17. Climbing giant waves and producing colossal jumps, Köster achieved top spot after three wins. With the adrenaline pumping, he wowed the crowds throughout the year with his daredevil performances.
CARISSA MOORE (United States) Surfing
Carissa Moore
- Only 19, Carissa Moore burst onto the women’s competitive surf scene in 2011 with astonishing results. She won the professional tour’s first event, the Roxy Pro on Australia’s Gold Coast, then followed that with two more wins and three seconds to win the World Surfing Championship. In November, she was given a rare invitation to compete with the men at the Van’s Triple Crown.
TRAVIS RICE (United States) Snowboarding
Travis Rice
- Travis Rice has developed into the best all-around snowboarder in the world, equally capable of showing up to win a Slopestyle event in Aspen as he is in pioneering a first descent in the remote Darwin Range on the tip of South America. In 2011, he co-produced and starred in the film The Art of Flight in which he took his staggering aerial tricks, usually reserved for the terrain parks. out into the mountains.
KELLY SLATER (United States) Surfing
Kelly Slater
- At the age of 39, Kelly Slater won a record 11th World Surfing Championship. Slater, who has won three Laureus World Sports Awards in his career, has dominated men’s surfing for two decades. He became the youngest ever world champion in 1992 at the age of 20 and the oldest at 34 in 2006. And now five years later he is still winning world championships.
SHAUN WHITE (United States) Skateboarding/Snowboarding
Shaun White
- The incomparable Shaun White began the year with yet another gold medal at the Winter X Games, in the men’s Superpipe. It was his fourth straight win in Superpipe, a record in any Winter X Games event, and gave him a remarkable total of 11 gold medals in Winter X. In his summer sport, skateboarding, he won X Games gold in Vert. No matter what season, White nails every trick.
The Laureus World Sports Awards are now less than two weeks away. You have already been telling us who you think should be the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, now its the turn of the year’s best teams to go head-to-head.
2011 was a remarkable year for team sports. Everything from football and rugby world cups to exciting motor racing and basketball campaigns were held over the 12 month period that truly exemplified the best in team sports.
Below you will find all the top achievements from the Nominees for the Laurues World Team of the Year.
Let us know who you think should be recognised as the very best!
All Blacks (New Zealand) Rugby
All Blacks
- The national rugby team of New Zealand ended 24 years of disappointment when they beat France 8-7 in a tense final in Auckland to win the Rugby World Cup for the second time. Their victory helped to lift the spirits of a nation hit by successive tragedies in the Christchurch Earthquake and the Pike River mine disaster.
FC Barcelona (Spain) Football
FC Barcelona
- Not for the first time the Catalan football team ended the year as the one against which all others are compared. In addition to winning the Spanish League in the 2010/11 season, the highlight of another memorable year was the 3-1 victory against Manchester United in the Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Dallas Mavericks (USA) Basketball
Dallas Mavericks
- The team won their first ever NBA title, under coach Rick Carlisle, beating favourites Miami Heat, a team featuring superstars LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Dirk Nowitzki became the first European-born player to receive the Most Valuable Player Award in the NBA Finals, as the Mavericks beat Miami 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.
England Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
- Became No 1 in the world after a spectacular 4-0 series win against former top team India during the summer. Under captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower, England’s rise to the top has been relentless. Batsman Jonathan Trott was named Cricketer of the Year and Alastair Cook Test Cricketer of the Year at the annual International Cricket Council Awards.
Red Bull (Austria) Motor Racing
The Red Bull team
- Won the Formula One World Constructors Championship for the second straight year in 2011. They also won the individual drivers’ title through Sebastian Vettel. Their second driver Mark Webber finished third. Although the team is based in the United Kingdom, it is registered in Austria and is the first Austrian team to win the title.
Japan Women’s Football Team
Japan Women's Football Team
- The Japan team stunned defending champions Germany with a 1-0 victory in the quarter-finals and beat the United States in a penalty shootout in the final. Coach Norio Sasaki had motivated his team by showing them film of the areas devastated by March’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami which inspired them to produce extraordinary results.
Celebrating both the achievements of exciting new talent, but also standout new heights reached by sportspeople already familiar to many, the Laureus Breakthrough Award really is one of the most exciting categories of them all come Awards night.
This year’s Nominees cover both of these types and include new faces going up against sportspeople who truly have outdone their past achievements during 2011.
Open to both sportsmen and sportswomen, just like the Comeback category, the Breakthrough Award always proves to be a closely run race.
So, once you have had a look at all their achievements from 2011, be sure to let us know who of the Nominees you think measures up to be sport’s Breakthrough of the Year.
YOHAN BLAKE
Yohan Blake
- World Athletics Championships, Daegu: Gold (100 metres)
- World Athletics Championships, Daegu: Gold (4x100m)
MO FARAH
Mo Farah
- European Indoor Athletics Championships: Gold (3000m)
- World Athletics Championships, Daegu: Gold (5,000m)
- World Athletics Championships, Daegu: Silver (10,000)
PETRA KVITOVA
Petra Kvitova
- Won first Grand Slam at Wimbledon
- Won WTA Championship in Istanbul
RORY McILROY
Rory McIlroy
- First Major win at US Open
- Won with record score of 16-under
LI NA
Li Na
- First Grand Slam win at French Open
- Reached Australian Open final
- Both achievements firsts for a Chinese player
OSCAR PISTORIUS
Oscar Pistorius
- First amputee athlete to win non-disabled track medal – World Athletics Championships, Daegu: Silver (4x400m relay)
- Reached semi-final of individual 400m at Daegu
The first of the Laureus blog’s posts on this year’s Laureus Awards Nominees was all about the Sportsman of the Year, and the response from you all was incredible. It even looks as though a favourite among you is emerging.
Next up however is the Sportswoman of the Year category, which might even be a closer run match than any other.
Once again, you can find all of the Nominees’ achievements and stats side by side for you to decide who you think has hit the most impressive heights over the past year.
VIVIAN CHERUIYOT
Cheruiyot
- Daegu World Athletics Championships: Gold (5,000 metres)
- Daegu World Athletics Championships: Gold (10,000 metres)
- Won 2011 World Cross-Country Championship in Spain
MARIA HOFL-RIESCH
Hofl-Riesch
- Alpine Skiing World Cup winner
- Won seven individual events on way to Overall World Cup win
CARMELITA JETER
Jeter
- Daegu World Athletics Championships: Gold (100 metres)
- Daegu World Athletics Championships: Gold (4 x 100 metres)
- Daegu World Athletics Championships: Silver(200 metres)
PETRA KVITOVA
Kvitova
- Won first Grand Slam at Wimbledon
- Won WTA Championship in Istanbul
HOMARE SAWA
Sawa
- World Cup winning captain of Japan women’s football team
- Won Golden Boot at World Cup with five goals
- Won Golden Ball at World Cup
- FIFA Women’s player of the Year
YANI TSENG
Tseng
- 12 tournament wins
- Two Major wins
- Number one LPGA tour prize-winnings: $2,921,713
So, who do you think has achieved the most from the world of women’s sport from the past year?
Let us know in the box below or on twitter @LaureusSport
The Award for Laureus Comeback of the Year is always a particularly special one.
Although Comeback Nominees are of course chosen for their sporting achievements just like the Sportsman and Sportswoman hopefuls, another very important factor is also taken into account.
And that factor is the courage, commitment and, as is particularly the case this year, the bravery that it took for these sportspeople to get back to the top of their game once again.
Because of that, all the Nominees this year truly deserve recognition for their achievements, but whose do you think are the most inspiring and worthy of success on Awards night?
Here are all the hopeful Nominees and a brief insight into the remarkable lengths they went to in the pursuit of finding sporting success once again…
ERIC ABIDAL
Eric Abidal
Eric Abidal’s story from the past year has to be one of the most remarkable in the history of football.
On March 15 last year he announced that a tumour had been found on his liver. He underwent surgery to have it removed two days later.
Eric’s turnaround remains an inspiring feat of bravery and commitment to sport. It was just two months later that the Barcelona defender returned to the game playing against Manchester United in the Champions League final. In a moving tribute he was handed the captain’s armband for the match. On Barcelona’s victory, he was the first to receive the trophy in recognition of his fantastic return after illness.
DARREN CLARKE
Darren Clarke
Darren Clarke’s victory in the Open Championship at the age of 42 was one of the most heart-warming sporting moments of the year.
It was his 20th attempt to win The Open, his home Major Championship, and came at the end of very difficult time for him following the death of his wife Heather in 2006, which meant his priority became looking after his two sons.
He dedicated his Open victory at Royal St George’s to his sons and his late wife. He said: “In terms of what’s going through my heart, there’s obviously somebody who is watching from up above and I know she’d be very proud of me. It’s been a long journey to get here.”
CRUSADERS
Crusaders
The Crusaders finished runners-up to the Queensland Reds in the Super 15 rugby competition, but nothing can be taken away from the passion and commitment it took for the team to reach even that stage.
The team was badly affected by the devastating Christchurch earthquake of February 2011. 181 people were killed in the disaster and the widespread destruction included their very own stadium.
It meant they had to travel over 100,000 km in 2011 alone just to play their rugby.
SERGIO GARCIA
Sergio Garcia
For professional sportspeople, one of the hardest things to do is simply find a way back to top-flight success after a long period of disappointment.
Sergio Garcia, however, who won the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year at the first Awards in 2000, did just that when he once again emerged in 2011 as a powerful force in golf.
After a three year stretch without a win, Garcia won two successive tournaments in 2011; the first at the Castello Masters, followed just a week later by victory at the Andalucia Masters.
In a moving tribute he dedicated his victory at Castello to Laureus Academy Member Seve Ballesteros, who died last May.
LIU XIANG
Liu Xiang
As a true sporting hero to the Chinese people, nothing can overstate how important Liu Xiang’s success is to his home country.
This is why his dropping out of his main event, the 110 metres hurdles, at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 with a hamstring injury would have been such a personal setback.
Xiang went a long way toward making up for this in 2011 with a second place finish in the 110m hurdles at the Daegu World Championships.
QUEENSLAND REDS
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds were the team who defeated fellow Nominees the Crusaders in the Rugby Super 15 final.
And, just like the Crusaders, they had persisted through great hardship to emerge with such success in 2011.
A series of floods in late 2010 killed 35 people from their home region and the subsequent success the Crusaders found after several seasons of mediocrity gave the area a real lift and source of pride.
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Clearly all these Nominees have an inspriring story behind their success in 2011, but which one speaks the most to you?
Let us know who you would like to see win the Comeback of the Year Award in the box below.
And, of course, tweet us @LaureusSport as well and be sure to follow to find out all the latest news on the Awards and the ongoing work of the Sport for Good Foundation.
