The contest for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award keeps getting better and better as the 2016 edition sees some of world sport's most iconic figures pitted against each other.
Nominees include three-time Laureus winner Usain Bolt, tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic, triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. They are joined by first time Nominees Stephen Curry, star of NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and golf’s world No.1 Jordan Spieth.
US tennis legend Serena Williams has earned a nomination for the record tenth after a sparkling 2015 in which she won three Grand Slams.
In another strong category, the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team is nominated for the second straight year for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, along with Rugby World Cup winners the All Blacks, Champions League winners FC Barcelona, NBA champions Golden State Warriors, the Great Britain Davis Cup Team and the US Women’s Football Team, who won their third World Cup.
Two sportsmen are nominated in two categories: surfer Mick Fanning (Action and Comeback) and golfer Jordan Spieth (Sportsman and Breakthrough).
In addition to Fanning, the Laureus World Comeback of the Year category features some of the biggest names in sport - Rugby Player of the Year Dan Carter, world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, the most decorated Olympian Michael Phelps, Kenya’s 800 metres world champion David Rudisha and US ski legend Lindsey Vonn.
Nominations for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability include two former winners: Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, who won in 2009 and 2013, and France’s Marie Bochet, winner in 2014, who had her second clean sweep of all five events at the Paralympic World Skiing Championships.
The names of the Nominees, six in each of seven categories, were announced today. The eventual winners will be revealed at the Laureus Awards Ceremony in Berlin on April 18.
Nominees
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) Athletics – Won three sprint gold medals in World Championships in Beijing
Stephen Curry (US) Basketball – Led Golden State Warriors to NBA championship, named NBA MVP
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Tennis – World No.1, won three Grand Slams and was finalist in French Open
Lewis Hamilton (UK) Motor Racing – Won third career and second straight Formula One world title
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football – Star of the FC Barcelona team, won record fifth Ballon d’Or
Jordan Spieth (US) Golf – At 21, won The Masters and the US Open and became world No.1
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award
Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) Athletics – IAAF Athlete of Year, won 1,500m world title in Beijing
Anna Fenninger (Austria) Skiing – Won two World Championship gold medals and second World Cup
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics – Won second straight and third career 100m world title
Katie Ledecky (US) Swimming – Won five gold medals at World Championships in Kazan
Carli Lloyd (US) Football – Scored three goals to win Women’s World Cup final, also won Golden Ball
Serena Williams (US) Tennis – World No.1, won Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon
Laureus World Team of the Year Award
All Blacks (New Zealand) Rugby – Won second straight Rugby World Cup, their third in total
FC Barcelona (Spain) Football – Won fifth Champions League, also won La Liga and Copa del Rey
Golden State Warriors (US) Basketball – Beat LeBron James’ Cleveland to win the NBA Finals
Great Britain Davis Cup Team (Tennis) – Led by Andy Murray, won Davis Cup for first time since 1936
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team (Germany) – Second Constructors’ World Championship
US Women’s Football Team – Won Women’s World Cup for third time, beating Japan 5-2 in the final
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award
Chile Men’s Football Team - Won their first ever Copa America, beating Argentina in the final
Jason Day (Australia) Golf – Won first Major Championship at USPGA, plus four other US Tour events
Tyson Fury (UK) Boxing - Beat Wladimir Klitschko to become unified world heavyweight champion
Adam Peaty (UK) Swimming – At 20, won three gold medals at World Championships in Kazan
Jordan Spieth (US) Golf – At 21, won The Masters and the US Open and became world No.1
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – Youngest Formula One driver at 17 years 166 days
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award
Dan Carter (New Zealand) Rugby - Named World Rugby Player of Year after All Blacks’ World Cup win
Jessica Ennis-Hill (UK) Athletics – Won heptathlon world title after injury and a year after giving birth to son
Mick Fanning (Australia) Surfing – Returned to the surf six days after a shark attack in South Africa
Michael Phelps (US) Swimmer – Won three titles at US Championships after returning to swimming
David Rudisha (Kenya) Athletics – After three years fighting injury, returned to track to win 800m world title
Lindsey Vonn (US) Skiing - After missing Olympics, returned to win 7th Downhill and 5th Super G World Cups
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award
Marie Bochet (France) Skiing – First to win all five events at back-to-back World Championships
Liu Cuiqing (China) Athletics - Won four women's T11 titles at her first World Championships
Daniel Dias (Brazil) Swimming – Won seven golds and one silver medal at World Championships
Omara Durand (Cuba) Athletics – Broke 100m world record to become fastest female Paralympian
Pieter Du Preez (S.Africa) Athletics, Cycling – Won world titles and achieved No.1status in two sports
Leung Yuk Wing (China Hong Kong) Boccia – Won medals in all four World Open competitions
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award
Rachel Atherton (UK) Mountain Biking – After illness came back to win fourth Overall World Cup
Bob Burnquist (Brazil) Skateboard – Won Big Air and Big Air Doubles to reach 29 X-Games medals
Adriano de Souza (Brazil) Surfing - At 28, he won his first World Surfing Championship
Mick Fanning (Australia) Surfing – Despite shark attack in S.Africa, finished second on world tour
Jan Frodeno (Germany) Ironman Triathlon – First to win Ironman world title and Olympic triathlon gold
Chloe Kim (US) Snowboarding - At 14, became youngest athlete to win a Winter X Games gold medal
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