Laureus World Sports Awards -Winners 2022
These awards are given annually and It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation founding patrons namely Diamler and Richemont . First given on 25 May 2000. Roger Federer has won it six times.
Sevilla: Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen was on Monday announced Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, while Jamaican sprinter and winner of three gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Elaine Thompson-Herah was named the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
Among other notable names to get the prestigious award during a digital ceremony hosted from Seville, are 2021 US Open women’s singles tennis champion Emma Raducanu, who received the Laureus ‘World Breakthrough of the Year Award’, while the Italian men’s football team, which won the Euro 2020 title, is the Laureus ‘World Team of the Year’.
The Laureus World Sports Academy also made special presentations to three giants of sport — Tom Brady, seven-time winner of the Super Bowl (Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award), footballer Robert Lewandowski (Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award for breaking Gerd Muller’s long-standing goalscoring record in the Bundesliga), and motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi (Laureus Sporting Icon Award, after retiring in November at the end of a 25-year career).
Verstappen, who secured his maiden World Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December 2021, said, “I was very happy, of course, but it was a lot of hard work and years of preparation. I’m incredibly proud. Since I was a little kid I dreamt of being on the top step and winning the championship. I said to my dad (Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen) ‘We did it, this is what we worked for all these years and now we are here, the two of us, all the memories, all the years of travelling all over Europe, going for that one goal and we achieved it’.
“I’m the first Dutch driver to win the World Championship, so the reaction back in Holland was amazing from all the newspapers and fans, it’s something we’ll never forget. It means a lot to be recognised for this award, one of the highest ones in the world, so I’m incredibly happy.”
Elaine Thompson-Herah, who defended her 100 and 200m Olympic titles in Tokyo, and also won a third gold in the 4x100m relay, has been described as the female Usain Bolt. “I know Usain has won Laureus Awards before, so to bring this trophy back home to the Caribbean, also in Jamaica, is very special.
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