Usain Bolt and Michael Johnson at the presentation of the Laureus World Sports Award in Toronto (© Laureus)
World champions Usain Bolt, Shelly Ann Fraser, Kenenisa Bekele and Sanya Richards have been named as finalists for this year's Laureus World Sports Awards.
The annual Award, which recognises sporting achievement during the period January 1 - December 31, 2009, is considered as one of the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a sports jury made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, will be unveiled during a televised Awards Ceremony staged in Abu Dhabi on 10 March.
To the athletics world, the quartet need little introduction.
Bolt followed up on his already legendary performance at the 2008 Olympics Games with victories in the 100m and 200m at the World Championships last summer, again with World records at both distances. Redefining human limits, the popular Jamaican clocked 9.58 in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m. Bolt, 23, won the Laureus last year.
Like her compatriot, Fraser followed up her Beijing triumph with a World championship title as well. Fraser, also 23, clocked 10.73 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium and with that performance ended the season tied as the fourth fastest woman in history.
Bekele continued to build his case as one of the finest distance runners in history. The multiple World record from Ethiopia also duplicated his double Olympic triumph by taking both the 5000m and 10,000m world titles in Berlin.
Following several near misses, Richards stormed to the World 400m title in Berlin and produced seven of the 10 fastest performances of the 2009 season. Richards and Bekele each also took home a share of the $1 million Golden League Jackpot.
On the men’s side. other nominees include tennis star Roger Federer, a four-time winner; footballer Lionel Messi; Tour de France winner Alberto Contador; and Italy's seven-time senior MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.
Other nominees on the women's side include Serena Williams, who won two Grand Slam tennis titles in 2009; swimmers Federica Pellegrini and Britta Steffen; and US ski racer Lindsey Vonn.
The names of the Nominees were unveiled by Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses and his fellow Laureus Academy Members, Kapil Dev and Mika Hakkinen, at the 2010 Laureus Nominations Announcement at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Also present were H.E Mohammed Ibrahim Al Mahmood, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Mr. Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, CEO of Aabar Investments PJSC, Host Partner of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Organisers and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
The annual Award, which recognises sporting achievement during the period January 1 - December 31, 2009, is considered as one of the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a sports jury made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, will be unveiled during a televised Awards Ceremony staged in Abu Dhabi on 10 March.
To the athletics world, the quartet need little introduction.
Bolt followed up on his already legendary performance at the 2008 Olympics Games with victories in the 100m and 200m at the World Championships last summer, again with World records at both distances. Redefining human limits, the popular Jamaican clocked 9.58 in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m. Bolt, 23, won the Laureus last year.
Like her compatriot, Fraser followed up her Beijing triumph with a World championship title as well. Fraser, also 23, clocked 10.73 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium and with that performance ended the season tied as the fourth fastest woman in history.
Bekele continued to build his case as one of the finest distance runners in history. The multiple World record from Ethiopia also duplicated his double Olympic triumph by taking both the 5000m and 10,000m world titles in Berlin.
Following several near misses, Richards stormed to the World 400m title in Berlin and produced seven of the 10 fastest performances of the 2009 season. Richards and Bekele each also took home a share of the $1 million Golden League Jackpot.
On the men’s side. other nominees include tennis star Roger Federer, a four-time winner; footballer Lionel Messi; Tour de France winner Alberto Contador; and Italy's seven-time senior MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.
Other nominees on the women's side include Serena Williams, who won two Grand Slam tennis titles in 2009; swimmers Federica Pellegrini and Britta Steffen; and US ski racer Lindsey Vonn.
The names of the Nominees were unveiled by Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses and his fellow Laureus Academy Members, Kapil Dev and Mika Hakkinen, at the 2010 Laureus Nominations Announcement at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Also present were H.E Mohammed Ibrahim Al Mahmood, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Mr. Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, CEO of Aabar Investments PJSC, Host Partner of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Organisers and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF