The Nominees for the 23rd annual Laureus World Sport Awards, revealed last week, include some of the greatest athletes in the world, with three exceptional runners amongst the nominations for Best Sportsman and Best Sportswoman of the year.
The world’s media voted across seven categories to honour the sportsmen, sportswomen and teams who set new standards last year. As the pandemic continued in 2021, spectators were not always present to take part when the biggest shows in sport returned.
The delayed Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo found a way to take place safely, and are responsible for providing the arena for these three runners to shine.
Sometimes supporters had to watch from afar and the athletes had to perform without a crowd atmosphere, adding pressure to their performance.
In the category of Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Elaine Thompson-Herah emulated her fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt with golds in the 100, 200 and 4×100 metre relay. Considered one of the fastest women sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 28: Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica reacts after winning the women 100 m during the Meeting de Paris Diamond League on August 28, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
Allyson Felix became the USA’s most decorated track-and-field Olympian. At the Tokyo Olympics, Felix won the bronze medal in the women’s 400 metre final, in a time of 49.6. This bronze medal gave her a total of 10 Olympic medals – 6 gold, 3 silver and one bronze, which is the most any woman has won in track and field at the Olympics. She then earned a gold in the 4×400 metre relay, and her 11th medal earned her the title of most decorated USA Olympian.
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 07: Allyson Felix of Team United States competes in the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 07, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Tokyo Games also provided a runner amongst the nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Eliud Kipchoge, who defended his title in the marathon. Kipchoge is now regarded as the best marathon runner of all time, and is the world record holder for the marathon distance, with a time of 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon in 2018.
He won the marathon at the Olympics in 2016, in 2020 and again in 2021. Kipchoge was recognised in 2019 with a Laureus Exceptional Achievement Award but has yet to win the Best Sportsperson award for which he has been nominated twice before.
From the world’s elite athletes, whose record-breaking achievements are broadcast around the globe, to children and young people for whom sport provides a way to improve life in one of its forgotten corners, the Laureus World Sports Awards is a celebration of all that sport can give us.
In South Africa and across the world, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation funds and manages a host of programmes that involve disadvantaged children and young people in sports activities, helping them overcome adversity.
