Laureus Awards 2019 - As it happened
World number one Novak Djokovic and the phenomenal Simone Biles bag top honours at the Laureus Awards 2019.
Published : Feb 18, 2019 22:26 IST
Alright, and that brings us to the end of our live coverage of the Laureus World Sports Awards 2019. It has been an exciting evening graced by stars from multiple disciplines of sport, that ended with the iconic Djokovic picking up the coveted Sportsman of The Year Award.
We thank you for tuning in for our updates and wish you a very goodnight.
1:38 AM: What a phenomenal year it has been for Djokovic. WOW!
1:33 AM: It's the one, the only, Novak Djokovic who wins the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award! The Serbian had a magnificent 2018 season that saw him comeback from a terrible elbow injury to bag two Grand Slams - The Wimbledon and The US Open - and soar to the top of the ATP rankings.
1:30 AM: We've now reached the final award of the evening, the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award.
Nominees for Sportsman of the Year
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1:26 AM: And the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award goes to..... SIMONE BILES!!!!!!
1:24 AM: We're down to the last few awards and we have a big one coming up! The Laureus Sportswoman of Year award.
Nominees for Sportswoman of the Year
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1:17 AM: Arsene Wenger wins the Laureus Lifetime Achievement award.
1:15 AM : "If you asked me a couple years ago would I ever be involved in the game, I would have given you a different answer," says Tiger Woods.
1:05 AM: A teary-eyed Lindsey Vonn receives the Spirit of Sport Award amidst a standing ovation.
1:00 AM: Tiger Woods wins the Laureus Comeback of the Year award!
12:55 AM: Up next is the award for the Laureus Comeback of the Year:
Nominees for Comeback of the Year
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12:47 AM: Missy Franklin awards the Sports For Good award to Indian-based NGO Yuwa. A proud moment for Indians, this! Yuwa, an NGO started in Jharkhand by Americans Franz Gastler and Rose Thomson Gastler for empowering the girl child using football, has been chosen as the winner among hundreds of programmes around the world.
--> Read more on this heart-warming story here
12:42 AM: Some wise words from Laureus Exceptional Achievement Award recipient Eliud Kipchoge:
12:39 AM: Sixty-Nine year old double amputee Xia Boyu, who scaled Mount Everest last year, wins the Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year award.
12:34 AM: Here's the soft-spoken Naomi Osaka's heart-felt appreciation video:
12:28 AM: Slovak alpine skier Henrieta Farkasova bags the award! The 32-year-old won her career's sixth gold medal when she won the women's visually impaired downhill event at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.12:25 AM: Up next is the award for Sportsperson of the Year with a disability:
Nominees for Sportsperson of the Year with a disability
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12:23 AM: Kenyan long-distance Eliud Kipchoge wins the Laureus Exceptional Achievement Award. Kipchoge set a new marathon world record in Berlin in September, smashing the previous best by an incredible 78 seconds as he clocked 2hr 1min 39sec.
12:17 AM: Naomi Osaka it is! The 21-year-old became the first-ever Japanese player to win a Grand Slam when she beat Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open. Her phenomenal run continued as she also bagged her second Grand Slam title, the Australian Open 2019, and now sits pretty atop the WTA rankings.
12:15 AM: Up next is the award for the Breakthrough of the Year:
Nominees for Breakthrough of the Year
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12:10 AM: Oh and for those of you wondering, yes it is the one and only X-Men and Westworld star James Marsden hosting the awards ceremony tonight!
12:10 AM: Chloe couldn't make it to the ceremony tonight, but send in a very sweet video message:
12:05 AM: Here's what French coach Didier Deschamps, who became the first Frenchman to win the FIFA World Cup as coach and captain (1998), had to say:
11:58 PM: Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk presents the Spirit of Sport Award to iconic ski racer Lindsey Vonn, who is the first ever American woman to win an Olympic medal in downhill skiing.
The legend had recently announced her retirement, after a astonishing career, a little a week ago. More on that here --> Lindsey Vonn retiring with legendary status to heal wounds
11:55 PM: And the winner is...... Chloe Kim! The American, at the age of 17, became the youngest woman to win an Olympic medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
11:52 PM: The next award is the World Action Sportsperson of the Year:
Nominees for World Action Sportsperson of the Year
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11:45 PM: FRANCE WINS THE TEAM OF THE YEAR! A stupendous run saw the Didier Deschamps coached side clinch the 2018 FIFA World Cup title in Russia.
11:40 PM: The first award for the night is the Team of the Year award . Here are the nominees:
Nominees for Team of the Year
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11:35 PM: We are underway here at Monte Carlo. Stay tuned for live updates. For the Indian audience, the awards ceremony is being streamed live on Hotstar .
11:25 PM: Wise words from Nole:
11:10 PM: We're 20 minutes away from the onset of the awards ceremony and here's a quick compilation of all the awards to be won tonight and their respective nominees.
Nominees for Sportsman of the Year
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Nominees for Sportswoman of the Year
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Nominees for Team of the Year
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Nominees for Breakthrough of the Year
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Nominees for Comeback of the Year
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Nominees for Sportsperson of the Year with a disability
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Nominees for World Action Sportsperson of the Year
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11:00 PM: Djoker in the house, everybody! Djokovic is in the running for his second Laureus award, ladies and gents.
10:55 PM: Wenger reckons France has its own Pele in the mercurial Mbappe. Do you agree?
10:50 PM: DID YOU KNOW? Yuwa, a Jharkhand-based NGO which works for girl empowerment, won the Laureus Sport for Good award, becoming the third Indian entry to bag the honour.
--> Read more on this heart-warming story here
10:45 PM: Quite the starry affair, this! The red carpet event ahead of the awards ceremony has begun and a host of stars, including the likes of Novak Djokovic, Arsene Wenger, Didier Deschamps, Monica Seles and Lindsey Vonn have already arrived! You can watch the event live here . The awards ceremony is set to begin at 11:30 PM IST.
The brightest stars from the world of sports have assembled in this picturesque city in Monaco, a small country bordering France, and tonight we'll find out who gets honoured with the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Ever since its inception in 1999, the Laureus Awards have grown in stature and have become sports' answer to cinema's Oscars. Little wonder the city’s hotels are filled with international sports personalities, past and present. Olympic gold medalists, World Cup winners… you name it, they're here.
Though there are awards to be won in various categories, the focus will mainly be on the Sportsman and the Sportswoman of the Year. When you look back at the winners from previous years, you get a fair idea of what it takes to win a Laureus Award.
Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic, Sebastian Vettel, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Missy Franklin, Yelena Isinbayeva and Justine Henin – some of them on multiple occasions – have all been among the winners.
Djokovic and Biles have the opportunity to win the award this year as well; they are among the nominees. For the Sportsman of the Year award, Djokovic, the World No. 1, is joined by Formula One World champion Lewis Hamilton, World-Cup winning French footballer Kylian Mbappe, NBA superstar LeBron James and FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner Luka Modric, while Biles will face competition from Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep and Winter Olympic champions Ester Ledecka and Mikaela Shiffrin and triathlete Daniela Ryf.
From among the other awards, India has something look forward to in the World Comeback of the Year as wrestler Vinesh Phogat is among the nominees. She is the first Indian to feature in such an elite Laureaus list.
Athletics legend Sergey Bubka, a Laureus World Sports Academy member, said he was glad that the organisation was acknowledging outstanding achievement in sport all over the world. “It is a great honour for a sportsperson to be recognised like this,” he told Sportstar . “It is great to see so many athletes together in one place.”