1. Guess who? Yes, it’s that man Usain Bolt again, following up his 100m WR with an equally astonishing 200m record of 19.19 seconds.
Bolt’s performance at the world championships has led many journalists and commentators to state that he has now overtaken Woods and Federer as the world’s foremost sportsman. In fact, the only obstacle he now faces is continuing to improve on his own performances. Perhaps that’s why he has turned his eyes to the long jump.
2. England win the Ashes. The England captain Andrew Strauss was deservedly Man of the Series but it was Andrew Flintoff who once again produced one of the iconic moments of the series by running out Ricky Ponting with a bullet throw at the stumps. Even if you’re someone who couldn’t give a monkey’s about cricket, you should be able to appreciate the skill involved in this…
3. If Usain Bolt didn’t exist, Kenenisa Bekele would undoubtedly be the King of Athletics. Read more
1) 9.58 seconds. Usain Bolt.
He may be Sportsman of the Year but is he the greatest athlete of all time?
2) Golf – In any other week the top spot would have been taken by South Korea’s Yang Yong-Eun, who became the first Asian-born winner of a major championship when he beat Tiger Woods at the USPGA. Yang is definitely a contender for the 2010 Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award. This is Yang’s amazing 75 foot chip for an eagle at the 14th, giving him the lead and ultimately the victory:
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…
What a week of sport. Some great moments and a lot of stars making their cases for next year’s Laureus World Sports Awards.
1) Cycling – Mark Cavendish’s win in Paris on the final stage of the Tour de France was a moment to remember. Yes, the jersey winners had already been decided but the race for victory along the Champs-Elysees produced one of the most exhilarating pieces of sporting action this year. The build-up was dramatic as Team Columbia chased down a breakaway group along the streets of Paris at speeds of 60kph. The final sprint was devastating with Cavendish, led out by his Australian team mate Mark Renshaw, leaving his main rivals trailing out of camera-shot in a similar manner to Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint in Beijing a year ago.
You can watch the final minute here.
2) Baseball – Mark Buehrle’s ‘Perfect Game‘ for the Chicago White Sox came a very close second. A Perfect Game occurs when a pitcher scores a victory without allowing the opposition, in this case the Tampa Bay Rays, to reach a single base. Read more
Welcome to the Laureus blog. Let’s kick it off with a summary of the year’s Laureus 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 - TBA
The nominees, voted for by the world’s press, included some of the great sportsmen and women of this generation and so selecting the winners once again was a very difficult task for our Academy. Unsurprisingly, many of the nominees were chosen for their achievements in the Olympics and Paralympics. But how to separate them? In the men’s category it was always going to be a two horse race between Bolt and Phelps, with the former’s phenomenal track achievements outweighing the swimmer’s record-breaking medal haul. Surely these were two of the great Olympic performances of all time? Read more
