LONDON, CMC – Usain Bolt has been nominated for another high profile international award.
The 23-year-old Jamaican sprint marvel has been nominated for the World Sportsman-of-the-Year award, the Laureus World Sports Academy announced yesterday.
Bolt was one of the undisputed stars of last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, and he has been nominated after becoming the first man to win the 100, 200, and 4 x 100 metres Olympic gold medals in World records.
British racing car driver Lewis Hamilton, whose navel string is buried in the Spice Isle of Grenada, has also been nominated for the Sportsman-of-the-Year award.
He was recognised for becoming the youngest ever Formula 1 World champion at the age of 23 years, 300 days.
Bolt and Hamilton have been nominated for the men’s award, along with Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal, American swimming icon Michael Phelps, and top European footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as motorcycling World champion Valentino Rossi.
Bolt and his compatriots who formed the Jamaican Olympic sprint team which beat the American favourites for a near clean sweep of Olympic sprint medals have also been nominated for an award.
They will challenge for the World Team–of–the–Year award along with the Boston Celtics, the Chinese Olympic team, the Great Britain Olympic cycling team, European football champions Spain, and English Premier League and European Champions League winners Manchester United.
The nominees were chosen by international sports journalists, and the winners will be selected by the London–based Laureus Sports Academy of which former West Indies cricket captain Sir Vivian Richards is a member, and former Olympic and World 400 metres hurdles champion Edwin Moses is chairman.
Laureus and its partners have made the decision that due to the current economic situation it would be inappropriate to stage a full–scale World Sports Awards Ceremony at this time.
Therefore, the winners of this year’s World Sports Awards will now receive their prizes individually at a series of presentations during May and June.