It’s awards time

The 15th Laureus Sports Awards ceremony will take place in Kuala Lumpar next week. One of the few that actually waits until the end of the year/ season before announcing nominations, Laureus will be presenting its prestigious trophies at the world-famous Istana Budaya in the capital of Malaysia.

While nominations have been decided based on global voting from sports reporters, the final decisions will rest with a unique group of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time.

The venue’s dramatic architecture is based on the traditional design of a Malay house and has hosted many great classical works and shows.

Competition for the World Sportsman of the Year for 2013 is particularly tough and raises an intriguing question as to whether a team player can raise this trophy for the first time.

Prime candidates are FIFA Footballer of the Year, Christiano Ronaldo, who scored 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal. The Ballon d’Or winner has been criticised previously for failing to produce his best under pressure, yet he notched a hat-trick for his country as they faced elimination in the World Cup play-off.

LeBron James is the other individual who is a strong candidate having been voted MVP for the fourth time in five years in the regular season. He was also MVP in the Finals after leading the Miami Heat to their second successive title.

From the world of athletics, three-time winner Usain Bolt is a front-runner having secured all three sprint titles at the World Championships. However, he will be challenged all the way by Mo Farah who secured the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the same event. At least they will be able to discuss arrangements for their highly publicised 600m race!

Rafael Nadal, who has also been nominated for the Comeback of the Year Award, and four-time Formula One world champion Sebastien Vettel are the other contenders.

World Sportsman of the Year nominees:
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) Athletics
Mo Farah (UK) Athletics
LeBron James (US) Basketball
Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Football
Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Motor Racing.
The Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year has a familiar look to the nominations with Missy Franklin, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Serena Williams all selected for the second year. At 18, swimmer Missy Franklin won a record six gold medals in the World Championships, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce matched Bolt to win all three sprint gold medals in Moscow and Williams had another outstanding year, winning the French and US Opens.
Also on the short list is Slovenia’s sensational skier Tina Maze, who won the Overall World Cup and three other disciplines, Yelena Isinbayeva, who won pole vault gold in the World Championships in front of her home Russian crowd, and Nadine Angerer, FIFA Women’s Player of the Year and captain of the German team that won the European Championship.
World Sportswoman of the Year nominees:
Nadine Angerer (Germany) Football
Missy Franklin (US) Swimming
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) Athletics
Tina Maze (Slovenia) Skiing
Serena Williams (US) Tennis

New Zealand’s All Blacks became the first national rugby union team to achieve a 100 per cent record in the professional era, winning all 14 of their Test matches. Led by veteran Richie McCaw, the team includes Kieran Read at No 8, the International Player of the Year, and fly-half Dan Carter, the highest points scorer in Test match rugby.

Favourites for the award, however, are Bayern Munich who secured the Champions League, German Cup and Bundesliga, in which they secured a number of records including the highest points total and most wins in a season. This remarkable team also won the World Club title as they accrued an incredible five trophies in the year.

It will be intriguing to see whether either of these teams can come out on top against a team that has won its fourth straight title; Red Bull, who helped Sebastien Vettel to nine consecutive victories.

Also in contention are the Miami Heat and, intriguingly, the Bryan twins, who became the first doubles pair to hold all four major tennis titles and the Olympic gold medal at the same time. The 35-year olds recently notched their 800th career win and have more victories and tournament successes than anyone in history.

World Team of the Year nominees:
All Blacks (NZ) Rugby Union
Bayern Munich (Germany) Football
Brazil Men’s Football Team
Bob & Mike Bryan (US) Tennis Miami Heat (US) Basketball
Red Bull (Austria) Motor Racing

Another contentious award will be the Comeback of the Year, pitting one of the most remarkable competition comebacks against several career revivals.

Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup in September in one of the most amazing fightbacks in the history of sport. The US yacht, owned by technology billionaire Larry Ellison, was 8-1 down in the series in San Francisco Bay, just one point from defeat, but driven on by skipper Jimmy Spithill and guided by tactician Ben Ainslie, the four-time British Olympic gold medallist, they rallied to produce a phenomenal run of eight straight wins for a remarkable 9-8 victory over Emirates Team New Zealand.

To win this prestigious award, Oracle will need to fight off the challenge of three of sport’s greatest legends.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returned after a seven-month absence with a knee injury to produce one of his finest ever years winning the French Open for a record eighth time and the US Open to take him to a career total of 13 Grand Slams, just four behind Roger Federer. He regained his No 1 world ranking and also won five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
 
Flamboyant Brazilian play-maker Ronaldinho, at 33, lead Atlético Mineiro to victory in the Copa Libertadores – the South American club championship – beating Paraguay’s Olimpia on penalties in the final, while Tiger Woods, after several years of underperformance as a result of injury and personal issues, came back to golf in style in 2013, regaining his world No 1 ranking and winning five events on the US PGA Tour. He was named PGA Player of the Year for the 11th time.

Another team in the running is the Boston Red Sox, who beat the St Louis Cardinals 4-2 to win the World Series after a remarkable turnaround from 2012 when they lost 93 matches and finished last in the American League East.

World Comeback of the Year nominees:
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) Athletics
Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis
Oracle Team USA – Sailing
Tony Parker (France) Basketball
Ronaldinho (Brazil) Football
Tiger Woods (US) Golf

Spain’s Marc Márquez, youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days, is a popular Nominee for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award and there is much support for the Afghanistan cricket team, who learned cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan and have now reached their first ever World Cup finals. Also nominated is Colombia’s Nairo Quintana, the first Tour de France rookie to finish on the podium since 1996.

The hottest competition is likely to be for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award, where the nominees between them won an amazing 32 gold medals in world championship events in 2013. American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden not only won six gold medals, but also won the four big marathons – Boston, Chicago, London and New York. Also in wheelchair events, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won five golds and a silver medal. Three swimmers are nominated after their World Championship performances: New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe, Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung and Ukraine’s Olga Sviderska. Also short-listed is French skier Marie Bochet, the first winner of all five disciplines at a single Alpine World Championships.

The nominations for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year include former winners Bob Burnquist, who secured a record 25th X-Games skateboard gold medal, and snowboarder Shaun White, who won a sixth consecutive X Games SuperPipe gold medal. They will be challenged by BMX star Jamie Bestwick, the only athlete in X Games history to win eight straight gold medals, Australia’s world surfing champion Mick Fanning, American surfer John John Florence, who scored a perfect 10 for completing the Alley Oop trick, and Brazil’s Maya Gabeira, who nearly drowned attempting to surf a 70ft wave in Portugal.