Nominations announced for 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards
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.
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.
It is an honour to once again be nominated for a Laureus Award by the world's media. For me this is special because Laureus sees the big picture - not just sport on the court or the pitch, but how it can help young people around the world. This is a time that sport can make a big difference in so many ways and really help to change the world.
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
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
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) - record 7th consecutive Constructors’ Championship
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 Grand Slam winner since 1990
Dominic Thiem (Austria) Tennis – won first ever Grand Slam at US Open; reached final of Australian Open
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
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 through sport
KICKFORMORE (Germany) Football – empowers youth to make positive contributions in their communities