Ugandan long-distance runner and world record champion Joshua Cheptegei has been nominated among five other in battle for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award 2021.
Cheptegei has been nominated alongside world-class athletes including former winners Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton. Also nominated are NBA superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, footballer Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, who won the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award and Sweden’s Armand Duplantis who broke outdoor and indoor pole vault world record in 2020.
Cheptegei set a new world road 5km record of 12:51 in February 2020 road race in Monaco breaking Kenya’s Sammy Kipketer in record he set in 2000.
In the same, Ceptegei shone the lights at the Monaco Diamond League meet, when he set a new 5000 meters world record of 12:35.36, breaking Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old world record of 12:37.35 set in Hengelo and On 7 October 2020, in Valencia, he set a world record time of 26:11.00 in the 10000 meters, which again improved on Kenenisa Bekele’s 15-year-old record by more than 6 seconds.
The Laureus Awards will be announced in May as part of a ‘Virtual’ Awards event aimed at not only celebrating the highest sporting achievement but also honouring those whose actions have transcended the court, track or field of play.
The awards which will be happening for the 22nd time, will be a ‘virtual’ event, in place of the annual gala ceremony in order to respect continued social distancing measures. The Awards continue to celebrate the achievements of sportsmen and women and their impact on society.
LIST OF NOMINEES FOR LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS 2021
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
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
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award
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
Laureus World Team of the Year 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
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award
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
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award
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
Laureus Sport for Good Award
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.
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