A glittering collection of the world’s greatest sports stars have been nominated for the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by the world’s media. The All Blacks, who won 14 Test matches to become the first team in the professional era to achieve this feat, are among some illustrious company including the Brazil and Bayern Munich football teams and the Miami Heat. Among the giants of sport who have been nominated are three-time Laureus winners Usain Bolt and Serena Williams, brilliant young Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel, short-listed for the fifth time, and Tiger Woods, who won in 2000, the inaugural year of Laureus, who is selected again after returning to the summit of world golf. Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, both two-time Laureus winners, are nominated in two categories. Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses said: “I have never seen such a potentially close contest in so many categories before. This is going to be a classic year. There is a wonderful balance between some of the great names who have dominated sport over many years and some exciting newcomers like Missy Franklin and Marc Márquez. I am especially thrilled by the line-up for the Disability Award, where you could make a case for any of the six to win. This is really the crème de la crème of sport and it is going to be an exciting night in Kuala Lumpur discovering which of these great athletes will receive Laureus Awards. The full list of Nominees for the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards is below: Laureus World Team of the Year All Blacks (NZ) Rugby Union – first time a national team achieved a 100% record in professional era Bayern Munich (Germany) Football – won Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble Brazil Men’s Football Team – won Confederations Cup, beating World Cup holders Spain in final Bob & Mike Bryan (US) Tennis – completed doubles ‘Golden Slam’ – four Grand Slams and Olympic gold Miami Heat (US) Basketball – won NBA title for second straight year, beating San Antonio Spurs in final Red Bull (Austria) Motor Racing – won fourth straight Formula One Constructors’ World Championship New Zealand’s All Blacks continued their superb run of form since their Rugby World Cup victory two years ago, winning all 14 of their Test matches for a 100% record in 2013 – the first time a national team has achieved this since the game went professional. The highlight was their six wins in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, including an impressive 38-27 win over South Africa in Johannesburg. Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Usain Bolt (Jamaica) Athletics – won 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m World Championship gold medals Mo Farah (UK) Athletics – won classic 5,000m and 10,000m double in World Championships LeBron James (US) Basketball – Miami Heat star, voted NBA MVP for fourth time in five years Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – winner of French Open, US Open and five ATP Masters event Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Football - scored 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal in 2013 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Motor Racing – won fourth straight Formula One World Championship Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Nadine Angerer (Germany) Football – FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, captain of German team Missy Franklin (US) Swimming – at 18, won a record six gold medals in World Championships Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics – won three sprint gold medals in World Championships Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) Athletics – won pole vault world title in front of home Russian crowd Tina Maze (Slovenia) Skiing – won Overall World Cup and three other disciplines, plus Super G world title Serena Williams (US) Tennis – won French Open and US Open, plus eight other tournaments in 2013 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Afghanistan Cricket Team – learned cricket in refugee camps, in 2013 reached first World Cup finals Marc Márquez (Spain) Motor Cycling – youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days Raphael Holzdeppe (Germany) Athletics – won Germany’s first World Championship pole vault gold Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Cycling – first Tour de France rookie to finish on the podium since 1996 Justin Rose (UK) Golf – won his first Major Championship at US Open, at the age of 32 Adam Scott (Australia) Golf – first Australian winner in the 77-year history of US Masters Laureus World Comeback of the Year Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) Athletics – won pole vault world title in front of home Russian crowd Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – winner of French Open, US Open and five ATP Masters event Oracle Team USA - Sailing – 8-1 down in America’s Cup, Oracle fought back for a remarkable 9-8 victory Tony Parker (France) Basketball – European Championship MVP after recovering from serious eye injury Ronaldinho (Brazil) Football – at 33, led unfashionable Atlético Mineiro to victory in Copa Libertadores Tiger Woods (US) Golf – US PGA Player of the Year after five tour victories, regained world No 1 ranking Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Marie Bochet (France) Skiing – first winner of all five disciplines at a single Alpine World Championships Marcel Hug (Switzerland) Wheelchair Racing – won five golds and a silver medal at World Championships Tatyana McFadden (US) Wheelchair Racing – won four city marathons and six golds at World Championships Sophie Pascoe (NZ) Swimming – won five gold medals out of five attempts at World Championships Sarah Louise Rung (Norway) Swimming – won four gold medals in her five races in World Championships Olga Sviderska (Ukraine) Swimming – took five individual and two relay golds in the World Championships Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Jamie Bestwick (UK) BMX – only athlete in X Games history to win eight straight gold medals Bob Burnquist (Brazil) Skateboarding – overtook Dave Mirra to win a record 25th X-Games gold medal Mick Fanning (Australia) Surfing – clinched his third World Surfing Championship in last event of year John John Florence (US) Surfing – scored perfect 10 for completing the Alley Oop in Bali Maya Gabeira (Brazil) Surfing – nearly drowned after attempting to surf a 70ft wave in Portugal Shaun White (US) Snowboarding – won sixth consecutive SuperPipe gold medal at Winter X Games
Posted on: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 06:04:32 +0000
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