Tokyo hopefuls Joshua Cheptegei and Armand Duplantis nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards 2021

Laureus to honour the special contribution of athletes, teams and sports fans who helped society to recover after a brutally challenging year Bayern Munich, LeBron James, Robert Lewandowski, Los Angeles Lakers, Alex Morgan, Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka also nominated Nominees picked by independent panel of sports journalists from over 100 countries Legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy now vote to select winners to be announced in May as part of a ‘Virtual’ Awards event For the full list of Nominees click here; for media assets (video, photos etc), click hereThe world’s sports media have cast their votes and the Nominees for the

22nd annual Laureus World Sports Awards are revealed today. Among the Nominees are Formula One

world champion Lewis Hamilton and current English Premier League champions Liverpool.

The greatest sportsmen, sportswomen and teams will discover in the next few months if they have won a

prestigious Laureus Statuette. This year the Laureus Awards will not be presented at an open ceremony,

but individually to winners due to the continuing global pandemic. The winners will be announced in May

as part of a ‘Virtual’ Awards event.

The 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards will not only honour the greatest sports achievements in a

challenging year, but will recognise a significant moment in sporting history when athletes used their

platforms more than ever before to revive hope, transform society and prove that sport can change the

world for the better.

The Awards will tell the inspirational stories of people who have worked tirelessly to combat the

coronavirus pandemic, and will highlight the advocacy of sportsmen and sportswomen who have used

their positions of influence to make a powerful impact on issues and conflicts which transcend sport. This

year there will be additional special Laureus Awards acknowledging the wider impact on society made by

athletes.

Current Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Lewis Hamilton has been nominated once again having

won a record-equalling seventh Formula One World Championship in 2020. In a highly competitive

category, also nominated are Rafael Nadal, who won his 20th Grand Slam to tie Roger Federer, NBA

super star LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers, Bayern Munich footballer Robert Lewandowski, plus

two hopeful Olympians – Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who broke both 5,000 and 10,000 metres world

records, and Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, who created new outdoor and indoor pole vault world records.

Hamilton said: "It’s an honour to have been nominated for ‘Sportsman of the Year’ alongside some truly

incredible athletes. When I look back at the award ceremony last year, it’s hard to believe just how much

has changed. 2020 was a difficult year for so many people, for many different reasons and of course the

world of sport was hugely affected. I was fortunate enough to be able to race and I’m so proud of what we,

as a team, were able to achieve together. I’m even prouder of the journey we began towards making the

motorsport industry more diverse and inclusive. Nelson Mandela was the inspiration behind Laureus and

I’m sure he would support everything we can do, to use sport to achieve a greater good."

Liverpool, under the irrepressible Jurgen Klopp, are also nominated again for the Laureus World Team of

the Year Award, after winning their first Premier League title for 30 years. They are competing with Bayern

Munich, winners of the Champions League, NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers, Formula One

constructors’ champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the Kansas City Chiefs, who won the 2020 Super

Bowl, and the Argentina Men’s Rugby Team.

Naomi Osaka, winner of the Laureus Breakthrough Award in 2019, is nominated for the Laureus World

Sportswoman of the Year Award, after her second US Open win in September. Also on the shortlist are

Brigid Kosgei, winner of the London Marathon, and Wendie Renard, captain of Lyon who won a fifth

straight Women’s Champions League.

Austria’s tennis star Dominic Thiem, 27, won his first ever Grand Slam at the US Open and is nominated

for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, 21, the youngest rider

in a century to win the Tour de France, and Barcelona’s Ansu Fati, 17, Spain’s youngest ever goalscorer,

are also among the Nominees.

The Laureus World Comeback of the Year Nominees include top women’s skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who

returned from a break from the sport following her father’s death, and US football star Alex Morgan who

made her debut for London club Tottenham just 184 days after giving birth.

For the first time ever, three programmes have been shortlisted for the Laureus Sport for Good Award,

reflecting the outstanding contribution made by grassroots sports organisations during the Covid-19

Pandemic: KICKFORMORE, a football programme in Germany that encourages participants to make positive

contributions in their communities; Boxgirls Kenya, which uses boxing to empower at-risk girls in slum

communities in Nairobi; and Fundación Colombianitos, a Colombian organisation focusing on football and

rugby to promote education and bridge gender gaps.

Sean Fitzpatrick, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, whose 68 members vote for the

winners of the Awards, said: "After a challenging year, we are more determined than ever to ensure that

Laureus honours the men and women who made such an effort to return to sport, in many cases in a very

different environment and without spectators. They gave everybody an emotional lift at a difficult time.

"As Academy Members, we are also proud to see the three shortlisted Sport for Good Award programmes

among these high achieving athletes. Working in often challenging circumstances in disadvantaged

communities around the world, these programmes showcase the best of sport, and they have all done so

well to continue using sport as a tool for social change in the face of adversity."

In view of the significantly reduced amount of activity which took place in some sports in 2020, the

Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award and the Laureus World Action

Sportsperson of the Year Award will not be presented, although sports from these categories will be

recognised elsewhere in the Awards show.

For more information on the Nominees and to stay updated in the build-up to the 2021 Laureus World

Sports Awards, visit laureus.com/world-sports-awards and follow #Laureus21 on Twitter Facebook

Instagram.

LIST OF NOMINEES FOR LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS 2021

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award

Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) Athletics – broke both 5,000 and 10,000 metres world records in 2020

Armand Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics – broke outdoor and indoor pole vault world record in 2020

Lewis Hamilton (UK) Motor Racing – won record-equalling seventh Formula One World Championship

LeBron James (USA) Basketball – LA Lakers star, won his fourth NBA title and fourth Finals MVP award

Robert Lewandowski (Poland) Football – 55 goals as Bayern Munich won Champions League, Bundesliga

Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – won 13th French Open; his 20th career Grand Slam to equal Roger Federer

Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award

Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) Cycling - won both road race and time trial at World Championships

Federica Brignone (Italy) Skiing – first Italian woman to win Overall World Cup; also Combined and G. Slalom

Brigid Kosgei (Kenya) Athletics – won rescheduled London Marathon by more than three minutes

Naomi Osaka (Japan) Tennis - won second US Open in 2020, her third career Grand Slam, at age 22

Wendie Renard (France) Football – captain of Lyon who won a fifth straight Women’s Champions League

Breanna Stewart (USA) Basketball – led Seattle Storm to WNBA Championship; won Finals MVP award

Laureus World Team of the Year Award

Argentina Men's Rugby Team - first ever win over three-time world champions the All Blacks

Bayern Munich (Germany) Football – won Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup under Hansi Flick

Kansas City Chiefs (USA) American Football - won the Super Bowl for the first time since 1970

Liverpool (UK) Football – under Jurgen Klopp won first English Premier League title for 30 years

Los Angeles Lakers (USA) Basketball – inspired by LeBron James, won their 17th NBA Championship

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team (Germany) - 7th consecutive Constructors’ Championship

Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award

Ansu Fati (Spain) Football – at 17, became youngest scorer for Spain and in El Clasico for Barcelona

Patrick Mahomes (USA) American Football – at 24, led Kansas City Chiefs to first Super Bowl win in 50 years

Joan Mir (Spain) Motor Cycling – at 23, won his first Moto GP World Championship

Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) Cycling - at 21, became the youngest rider in a century to win the Tour de France

Iga Swiatek (Poland) Tennis – at 19, won French Open to become youngest Roland Garros winner since 1992

Dominic Thiem (Austria) Tennis – won first ever Grand Slam at US Open; reached final of Australian Open

Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award

Daniel Bard (USA) Baseball – successful return to top level after not pitching for seven years because of ‘yips’

Kento Momota (Japan) Badminton – world No.1 returned to competition after surviving serious car crash

Alex Morgan (USA) Football - debut for London club Tottenham just 184 days after giving birth

Max Parrot (Canada) Snowboarding – recovered from cancer to win two X-Games gold medals in 2020

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) Skiing – came back from break following father’s death to start winning again

Alex Smith (USA) American Football – back for Washington 728 days and 17 operations after leg injury

Laureus Sport for Good Award

Boxgirls Kenya Boxing – supports and empowers at-risk girls in underserved slum communities in Nairobi

Fundación Colombianitos (Colombia) Football & Rugby – bridges gender gaps and promotes education

KICKFORMORE (Germany) Football – empowers youth to make positive contributions in their communities

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