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
The recent announcement of Kelly Slater as Laureus World Action Sportperson of the Year was the last of this year’s Awards presentations. So here’s our final summary of the 2009 winners:
Sportsman of the Year - Usain Bolt
Sportswoman of the Year - Yelena Isinbayeva
Breakthrough of the Year - Rebecca Adlington
Sportsperson with a Disability - Daniel Dias
Comeback of the Year - Vitali Klitschko
Team of the Year – China Olympic Team
Action Sportsperson of the Year - Kelly Slater
From now on we’ll be having a regular look at the contenders for next year’s Awards. Feel free to give us your own selections…
1) Surfing – Kelly Slater won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. Well we had to, didn’t we?
2) Swimming – Michael Phelps broke the 100m butterfly world record in dramatic fashion at the World Swimming Championships in Rome on Saturday. Trailing in 4th postion at the turn, Phelps put in his customary strong last 50m and overtook Serbia’s Milorad Cavic with about 5m to go. Phelps admitted that his outpouring of emotion came from the build-up to the race and his rivalry with Cavic.
3) Formula One - Ferrari’s announcement that Michael Schumacher will replace Felipe Massa Read more
On Sunday in LA, the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award went for the second time in three years to legendary American surfer Kelly Slater, who won a record ninth world title at the age of 37.
At 37, legendary surfing master Kelly Slater completed his most dominant year yet. Claiming an unprecedented ninth world title in 2008, Slater took first in six of the 10 contests he entered. His 8,832 points this year absolutely dwarfed the 6,780 of his nearest competitor.
3 legends - Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater and Robby Naish
Slater received his award at a special ceremony held at the Read more
