The Laureus World Sports Awards 2012 are now just four weeks away…
…and we want to know who you think deserves to be victorious on the night.
Of course, it’s not an easy task to pick the world’s best sportsperson when the Nominees don’t even play the same game. So, to make it as easy as possible, you will find all the hopefuls below listed with their greatest achievements and statistics from 2011.
First up in the series is the tightly contested Laureus World Sportsman of the Year category:
USAIN BOLT
Usain Bolt
- 200 metres: gold (Daegu World Athletics Championship)
- 4x100m relay: gold (Daegu with Jamaica relay team)
DIRK NOWITZKI
Dirk Nowitzki
- Named in 2011 NBA All-Star Game (10th appearence)
- Named 2011 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
- Averaged 27.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 21 games in playoffs.
CADEL EVANS
Cadel Evans
- Tour de France: Winner
- Tour de Romandie: Winner
- Tirreno–Adriatico: Winner
LIONEL MESSI
Lionel Messi
- Helped Barcelona to win five trophies
- Scored the crucial goal in Champions League Final against Manchester United
- Won the Golden Ball at FIFA Club World Cup (and was Man of the Match in the final)
- Ballon d’Or winner 2011 (his third win)
- From 70 games in 2011: Scored 59 goals and 35 completed assists
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Novak Djokovic
- Finished 2011 as world No 1
- Ten tournament wins (including three Grand Slams and five masters 1000 series events)
- 70 wins from 76 matches
- Season prize money a record $12,619,803
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Sebastian Vettel
- 2011 Formula 1 World Champion
- 11 race wins
- 17 podium finishes
- Record number of Championship points in a season (392)
- Record number of pole positions in a season (15)
So, there are all the vital statistics from the most incredible sportsmen of the past year!
Let us know who you think has the most impressive tally of achievements in the box below, or let us know on Twitter by following @LaureusSport.
Come back soon for the next in the head-to-head series: the sportswomen Nominees…
Back at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Award, it was the inspiring Alessandro Zanardi’s remarkable courage that won him the Comeback of the Year Award.
This was following his return to motor racing having lost both his legs in a horrific crash just four years earlier.
Zanardi receives his award from Teri Hatcher
His 2001 accident in the European Memorial CART race in Lausitz, Germany was one of the worst ever seen.
His car spun coming out of the pits and was hit by another coming down the straight at 200mph. The impact was so great that his vehicle was ripped in two.
Demonstrating incredible commitment and passion, Zanardi returned to motor racing in October 2003 and went on to complete a full season in the European Touring Car championship in 2004.
On his return, he drove a specially adapted car in which the throttle was mounted on the upper part of the steering wheel, the brake pedal was shaped to prevent the driver’s artificial limb from losing grip, whilst the clutch actuated through a button on the gear lever.
Though his return to his sport in this way made him worthy of recognition by the Laureus Academy, Zanardi’s journey following this has gone on to show how inspirational a figure he truly is.
Though he retired from motor racing in 2009, it certainly wasn’t because he was finished with sport altogether.
That’s because he would now focus on the new sport he had adopted since 2007: hand cycling.
From the very start, success came remarkably quickly.
In 2007 he achieved 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division after only four weeks of training.
By the end of 2011, however, Zanardi had finally won the New York Marathon at his fourth attempt. He added this first place finish to previous victories at the Venice Marathon in 2009 and the Rome Marathon in 2010.
Perhaps his most exciting achievement of the past year, however, has been his qualifying to race for the Italian team at the London 2012 Paralympics.
Zanardi may be approaching 46 by the time the Games come around later this year, but considering his achievements so far, it’s a safe bet he will be chasing nothing but gold.
The voting has offiically closed and the nominations for the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards are finally in.
But before everyone can find out the names of those in the running at next year’s ceremony in London, the Laureus blog is taking a look back at past winners and seeing what they have gone on to achieve in the following years.
And the first in this series looks back to an inspirational sportsman who, since winning his Award, has been forced to battle through incredible adversity for the second time in his life only to emerge with great sporting success.
This sportsman was the Australian skiier Michael Milton, and his Award all the way back in 2003 was to be named the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
Michael accepting his Award in 2003
The Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability is often one of the most inspiring of them all, and it really was no exception when Michael received the Award in Monaco, 2003.
Michael was being recognised for his winning four Olympic Gold medals at the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, and, in doing so, becoming the first athlete in his amputee class to win all eligible alpine skiing events.
His achievements were particularly remarkable considering the hardships he endured as a child.
Michael was only nine when he was diagnosed with cancer.
The only chance of saving his life was to amputate a leg. This was particularly devastating for the young boy having come from a family passionate about sport; inparticular, skiing.
Showing his incredible passion and strength, he was walking on an artificial leg just nine days after the amputation.
Within three months he was out on skis once again.
Collecting his Award from Laureus Academy Member Dan Marino, he said: “Who would have thought, a snow skier from Australia? Sport is about emotion, and I guess this year I could – well, for me I thought Salt Lake. Performing like I did in Salt Lake would be the Everest in terms of the highs of emotion, especially through a lifetime when perhaps there’s been some lows. But I think tonight, for me, is the Everest. Thank you.”
However, as mentioned earlier, Michael was to face further hardship during his sporting career.
In 2007 he was just starting to prepare for a radically new sporting career. Having accomplished so much as a skiier, he was now readying himself for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics to take part for Australia as a cyclist.
In July 2007, however, he was once again diagnosed with cancer, and it would seem his summer Paralympic hopes would be crushed.
He had to undergo surgery to remove a tumour from his Oesophagus and subject his body to the hardships of chemotherapy.
By this point, the Beijing Games were just 12 months away.
Incredibly, Michael recovered in time and was selected by the Australian Paralympic team to compete in three cycling events: the 1km Time Trial, the 300m Individual Pursuit on the track and the 60.5km Road Race.
there is no question that Michael was a worthy winner in 2003, but his achievements since then truly show how great a sportsperson he remains today and also how inspirational the power of sport can really be.
It was a very exciting day when it was announced that London would be home to the Laureus Awards for the first time.
The Ceremony has travelled as far as St Petersburg all the way to Abu Dhabi since the first event was held in Monaco back in 2000. And, at the start of the city’s Olympic year, it should be fantastic to hold it in London.
Attention will be firmly placed on who will be up for Nomination for an Award, and this year it could be one of the most exciting contests yet. And it would be great to hear who (and why) you think should be in line for the Awards.
But of course, one of the most important parts of the Awards season will always be the focus it brings to the vital work carried out all year round by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
Oscar Pistorius visting one of the latest Laureus-supported projects last month
The Awards remain so important because of the unique opportunities it allows for the work of the Foundation.
Not only is it a truly great way to promote the work Laureus undertake using sport to tackle issues such as HIV/AIDS, discrimination and health problems, but the Awards is also a valuable fundraiser. Proceeds from the Awards go straight towards helping children and young people the world over work toward a more positive future through sport.
So, if you are interested in seeing how this is happening then head over to Laureus.com to find out more about the work of Laureus-supported projects worldwide.
And be sure to tell us who you think should emerge victorious at the 2012 Awards in the box below or on Twitter @LaureusSport
Layne Beachley has made an unbelievable return to international surfing by winning the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship in El Salvador.
Layne Beachley in action
