2010 Laureus World Sports Awards

The full list of nominees for the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards is:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) Athletics – first 5,000 & 10,000m double in World Championships Usain Bolt (Jamaica) Athletics – won 100m, 200m & 4x100m relay World Championship gold medals Alberto Contador (Spain) Cycling – won his second Tour de France in three years Roger Federer (Switzerland) Tennis – broke Pete Sampras record for most Grand Slam singles titles won Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football – FIFA World Player of the Year, a star in Barcelona’s brilliant year Valentinio Rossi (Italy) Motor Cycling – won his seventh senior MotoGP world title
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Shelly-Ann Fraser (Jamaica) Athletics - added World Championship 100 metres gold to Olympic gold Federica Pellegrini (Italy) Swimming – broke the four minute barrier in 400m freestyle Sanya Richards (US) Athletics – won first individual 400m gold medal in a global championship Britta Steffen (Germany) Swimming – won World Championship 50m & 100m gold in world record times Lindsey Vonn (US) Skiing – won World Cup for second year and two gold medals at World Championships Serena Williams (US) Tennis – won Australian Open and Wimbledon and regained world No 1 ranking
Laureus World Team of the Year FC Barcelona (Spain) Football – won Champions League, Spanish League and Spanish Cup in 2008/09 Brawn Formula One Team (UK) – won Drivers and Constructors World Championships in debut year Germany Women’s Football Team – won their fifth straight European Championship Los Angeles Lakers (US) Basketball - won 15th NBA title in their record 30th play-off appearance New York Yankees (US) Baseball – won their 27th – and record – World Series South Africa Rugby Team – international rugby team of the year, won Lions and Tri-Nations series
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Jenson Button (UK) Motor Racing – won Formula One World Championship after 169 Grand Prix Mark Cavendish (UK) Cycling – won six stages of the Tour de France, a record for a British cyclist Tom Daley (UK) Diving – won 10m platform gold medal in World Championship, at age 15 Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) Tennis – beat Roger Federer in final to win US Open, at age 21 Ji Yai Shin (South Korea) Golf – rookie of the year on the US LPGA Tour, winning three events VFL Wolfsburg (Germany) Football – small club from Lower Saxony, won their first Bundesliga title
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Lance Armstrong (US) Cycling – returned to Tour de France at 37 after four year gap, finished third Kim Clijsters (Belgium) Tennis – won US Open in her third tournament back after two year absence Jessica Ennis (UK) Athletics – won World Championship heptathlon after missing Olympics with injury Brett Favre (US) American Football – came out of retirement and created record for consecutive starts Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) Athletics – won World Championship high jump after disappointment at Olympics Tom Watson (US) Golf – came within a putt of winning the British Open at age 59
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Justin Eveson (Australia) Wheelchair Basketball – winner of every tournament in which he took part Kurt Fearnley (Australia) Wheelchair Racing – won all five marathons in which he competed in 2009 Gizen Girismen (Turkey) Para-Archery – No 1 archer in the world in her category since 2007 Shingo Kunieda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis – unbeaten in 77 matches dating back to 2007 Michael Teuber (Germany) Cycling – won three gold and one silver medal in World Championships Natalie du Toit (S.Africa) Swimming – continued to dominate able-bodied and disabled events in 2009
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Antoine Albeau (France) Windsurfing – won the 2009 PWA Slalom World Championship Chris Cole (US) Skateboarding – won the Dew Cup and was named Skater of the Year Mick Fanning (Australia) Surfing – won his second World Surfing Championship in three years Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) Surfing – won her third straight World Surfing Championship, at just 21 Greg Long (US) Surfing – won big wave event at Waimea Bay, Hawaii, in front of 50,000 spectators Danny MacAskill (UK) Trials Bikes – spectacular stunt video seen by 350,000 on You Tube in 40 hours
For more detailed biographies of Nominees go to www.laureus.com/Awards/2010/Nominees