Laureus Awards: The who's who of world sports in one place

Novak Djokovic and Lewis Hamilton are in the running for the Sportsman of the Year award, while Simone Biles, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber are among the nominees for Sportswoman of the Year.

The Laureus World Sports award. (Representative Image)

The brightest stars from the world of sports have assembled in this picturesque city in Monaco, a small country bordering France, where on Monday we'll find out who gets honoured with the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Ever since its inception in 1999, the Laureas 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 Laureaus 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.”