The sporting achievements in 2008 of double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, Manchester United and Britain’s Olympic cycling team, have been acknowledged by Laureus.
All have been nominated for prizes at this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards - the sporting equivalent of the silver screen Oscars. A record number of 873 journalists from 112 countries voted on the nominees for the 2009 awards – the tenth of its kind.
Going for World Sportsman of the Year Award is Hamilton, 24, who was crowned the youngest ever Formula One world champion – aged 23 years and 300 days – in the final grand prix of the season, in Brazil. He will be going up against Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 42 goals for the Red Devils last season.
The 19-year-old Adlington, nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough Award, became Britain's first female Olympic swimming champion for 48 years, when she won two gold medals in the Beijing Games in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle – and she broke a 49-year world record in the latter.
Britain’s Olympic cyclists, who are nominated for Laureus World Team of the Year Award, dominated the velodrome at Beijing, winning eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals. And Chris Hoy’s haul of three gold medals was the best individual British performance since the 1908 Games.
Manchester United, who won their third European Cup/Champions League trophy and also romped home to victory in the English Premier League Championship last year, have also been nominated for Team of the Year.
The date and the location of this year’s award ceremony will be revealed by Laureus later today. For detailed biographies of nominees go to http://www.laureus.com/awards/2009/nominees.