S. OchiengMarathon legend Eliud Kipchoge nominated for Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award
Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 02.02.22. | 17:12
Kipchoge will battle for the award with Bayern Munich danger man Lewandowski, F1's Max Verstappen among other elite athletes
Two-time Olympic champion and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge has been nominated for the prestigious 2022 Laureus Sportman of the Year Award following his heroics at the Tokyo Games where the Kenyan runner etched his name on the history books by becoming just the third athlete to successfully defend his Olympic marathon crown.
In the list revealed by World Athletics on Wednesday afternoon, the Kenyan ace is one of six nominees for the men’s award, alongside NFL player Tom Brady, Bayern Munich footballer Robert Lewandowski, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, tennis player Novak Djokovic and swimmer Caleb Dressel.
Greatness recognizes greatness 💫
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 2, 2022
Marathon legend and two-time @Olympics champion @EliudKipchoge 🇰🇪 is one of six nominees for the @LaureusSport Sportsman of the Year award 👉 https://t.co/85zrPWkZOZ pic.twitter.com/XLiUsP7OJU
Despite the ongoing disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Kipchoge managed to successfully defend his marathon title with a commanding performance in Sapporo, Japan where he clocked 2:8.38 finishing one minute 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, who finished just ahead of Belgium’s Bashir Abdi.
“I think we have to conclude that Eliud Kipchoge is now the greatest marathon runner of all time,” said World Athletics President and Laureus Academy Member Sebastian Coe. “I had the great privilege of watching him win his Olympic title in Sapporo. He was so in command of that race that day. His contribution to athletics is Muhammad Ali-esque,” he told World Athletics.
On the women’s side, Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and America’s Allyson Felix will battle for the Sportswoman of the Year honours in what should be a tight contest.
Thompson-Herah, who last year was named the World Female Athlete of the Year, is nominated for the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award following her triple gold-medal-winning performance in Tokyo where she won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m.
“She is an athlete who just completely dominated their sport last year,” athletics legend and Laureus Academy Member Michael Johnson said of Thompson-Herah. “100m, 200m, repeating as champion, which is very difficult to do, and threatening one of the oldest and most impressive world records in the books, the women's 100m – we haven't talked about anyone threatening that record for years.”
Thank you @laureussport for your nomination for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.
— Elaine Thompson-Herah (@FastElaine) February 2, 2022
I am honored and excited to be one of the nominee and congratulations to all the other nominees. #Laureus22 pic.twitter.com/L8NpXoDSDV
Felix, meanwhile, is nominated off the back of her record-breaking medal tally, with her 400m bronze and 4x400m gold medals taking her count to 11 medals. They are joined on the list of nominees by swimmers Emma McKeon and Katie Ledecky, tennis player Ashleigh Barty and Barcelona football player Alexia Putellas.
Olympic triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas and Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, meanwhile, are nominated for the Breakthrough award.
The winners will be revealed in April, following a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, comprising 71 sporting legends.
🙌 And that's a wrap!
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) February 2, 2022
✨ Let's take another look at who's been nominated for the 2022 Laureus Awards#Laureus22 pic.twitter.com/1fXKgDqLGP
Full list of nominees
Sportsman of the Year
Tom Brady (USA) American Football
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Tennis
Caeleb Dressel (USA)
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) Athletics
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) Football
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing
Sportswoman of the Year Award
Ashleigh Barty (Australia) Tennis
Allyson Felix (USA) Athletics
Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming
Emma McKeon (Australia) Swimming
Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football
Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) Athletics
Team of the Year
Argentina Men's Football Team
Barcelona Women's Football Team (Spain)
Italy Men's Football Team
Milwaukee Bucks (USA) Basketball
Breakthrough of the Year
Neeraj Chopra (India) Athletics
Daniil Medvedev (Russia) Tennis
Pedri (Spain) Football
Emma Raducanu (UK) Tennis
Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) Athletics
Ariarne Titmus (Australia) Swimming
Comeback of the Year
Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics
Sky Brown (UK) Skateboarding
Mark Cavendish (UK) Cycling
Tom Daley (UK) Diving
Marc Márquez (Spain) Motor Cycling
Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling
Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
Diede De Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis
Marcel Hug (Switz) Wheelchair Athletics
Shingo Kunieda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis
Jetze Plat (Netherlands) Para Cycling / Para Triathlon
Susana Rodríguez (Spain) Para Triathlon
Sarah Storey (UK) Para Cycling
World Action Sportsperson of the Year
Ítalo Ferreira (Brazil) Surfing
Alberto Ginés (Spain) Climbing
Yuto Horigome (Japan) Skateboarding
Carissa Moore (USA) Surfing
Momiji Nishiya (Japan) Skateboarding
Bethany Shriever (UK) BMX
Sport for Good Award
Ich will da rauf! (Germany) Climbing
Jucà Pe Cagnà (Italy) Multi-sport
Kick 4 Life (Lesotho) Football
Lost Boyz Inc. (USA) Baseball
Monkey Magic (Japan) Climbing
