Two Para triathletes nominated for prestigious Laureus Award

With the likes of Tom Brady, Caeleb Dressel, Allyson Felix, Ashleigh Barty and Katie Ledecky on the list, it’s hardly a surprise that there weren’t too many triathletes nominated for any of the seven categories. In 2016 Jan Frodeno proved his celebrity outside the world of triathlon when he won the Laureus Action Sportsperson of the Year, and Daniela Ryf did the same by simply being nominated in the Sportswoman of the Year category in 2019.

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation started the awards in 1999. The nominees are voted for by a 1,300-member Laureus Global Media Panel. This year’s nomination list includes six athletes in seven different categories. The two triathletes on the list, The Netherlands’ Jetze Plat and Spain’s Susana Rodriguez, were both nominated in the World Sportsperson of the Year With Disability. Both won Paralympic gold medals last year in Tokyo.

Time magazine cover

Last year Rodriguez was featured by Time magazine because of her work as a doctor during the pandemic. The three-time world champion earned her medical degree despite her visual impairment in 2015. Last August she won gold in the PTVI category in Tokyo, her first Paralympic medal.

Three golds in two different sports

Plat successfully defended the Paralympic gold medal in the PTWC division in Tokyo, continuing his dominance of the category. Since 2016 he’s won every World Triathlon event he’s entered, and he won every world championship between 2015 and 2019. A few days after he won gold in triathlon, he took gold in the H4 cycling category in the time trial, then followed that up with another gold in the road race a day after that.

Chris Nikic accepts Espy award with inspirational and hilarious speech

The awards will be handed out at a virtual awards ceremony in April.

Here’s a full list of the nominees:

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Tom Brady (USA) American Football – the greatest NFL quarterback, he won a record seventh Super Bowl

Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Tennis – won three Grand Slams in 2021 to take his total of career wins to 20

Caeleb Dressel (USA) Swimming – outstanding male swimmer in Tokyo with five Olympic gold medals

Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) Athletics – became third person in history to win back-to-back Olympic marathons

Robert Lewandowski (Poland) Football – surpassed Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals in a season for Bayern

Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – won his first Formula One World Championship in 2021

 

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Ashleigh Barty (Australia) Tennis – world No.1, won Wimbledon, her second career Grand Slam

Allyson Felix (USA) Athletics – surpassed Carl Lewis as the most decorated track and field US Olympian

Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming – won 800 and 1,500 metres freestyle golds in Tokyo, plus two silver medals

Emma McKeon (Australia) Swimming – won four gold and three bronze in Tokyo, the most by an individual

Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football – Barcelona captain; won Ballon d’Or and UEFA Women’s Player of Year

Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) Athletics – won Olympic 100 and 200 metres and 4x100m relay

 

LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Argentina Men’s Football Team – won Copa America; Lionel Messi’s first international trophy, at age of 34

Barcelona Women’s Football Team (Spain) – won first Champions League, beating English club Chelsea 4-0

China Olympic Diving Team – won gold medals in seven of the eight events staged in the pool in Tokyo

Italy Men’s Football Team – under Roberto Mancini won European Championship for first time since 1968

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team (Germany) – won record eighth Constructors Championship

Milwaukee Bucks (USA) Basketball – inspired by Giannis Antetokounmpo, won a second NBA championship

 

LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Neeraj Chopra (India) Athletics – won javelin to become India’s first winner of an Olympic athletics gold

Daniil Medvedev (Russia) Tennis – won his first ever Grand Slam, dropping only one set in the US Open

Pedri (Spain) Football – 19, played 53 times in 2020/21 for Barcelona, and every game for Spain in Euro 2020

Emma Raducanu (UK) Tennis – became a global sensation when she won the US Open at the age of 18

Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) Athletics – broke 26-year-old world record to win triple jump gold in Tokyo

Ariarne Titmus (Australia) Swimming – aged 20, beat champion Katie Ledecky at 200 and 400m in Tokyo

 

LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD

Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics – after withdrawing in Tokyo, she came back to win bronze in the beam

Sky Brown (UK) Skateboarding – aged 13, recovered from fractured skull to win bronze medal in Tokyo

Mark Cavendish (UK) Cycling – fought back from depression to win second Tour de France sprint title

Tom Daley (UK) Diving – had knee surgery in June, but won 10 metres synchronised gold in Tokyo

Marc Márquez (Spain) Motor Cycling – first win in 581 days, after recovering from broken arm at start of 2020

Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling – won Olympic time trial days after missing gold in road race

 

LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD

Diede De Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis – first player to complete the calendar-year Golden Slam

Marcel Hug (Switz) Wheelchair Athletics – won Paralympic gold medals in 800, 1,500, 5,000m and marathon

Shingo Kunieda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis – host-nation hero, won fourth Paralympic gold of his career

Jetze Plat (Netherlands) Para Cycling / Para Triathlon – won three Paralympic gold medals in two sports

Susana Rodríguez (Spain) Para Triathlon – won gold in Tokyo in triathlon PTVI, her first Paralympic medal

Sarah Storey (UK) Para Cycling – won three golds from three events to take her career total to 17

 

LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD

Ítalo Ferreira (Brazil) Surfing – in Tokyo became the first-ever surfing Olympic gold medal winner

Alberto Ginés (Spain) Climbing – aged 18, scaled 15-metre wall in 6.42 seconds to win speed climbing gold

Yuto Horigome (Japan) Skateboarding – won first ever skateboarding Olympic gold to delight of host nation

Carissa Moore (USA) Surfing – won first ever women’s Olympic surfing gold, then added her fifth world title

Momiji Nishiya (Japan) Skateboarding – at 13, won first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s street event

Bethany Shriever (UK) BMX – first woman to win both Olympic and World Championship gold in same year

 

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD

Programmes shortlisted by a specialist selection panel; Laureus Academy select the winner

Ich will da rauf! (Germany) Climbing – disabled and non-disabled share challenge of the climbing wall

Jucà Pe Cagnà (Italy) Multi-sport – provides safe places to play away from the influence of crime

Kick 4 Life (Lesotho) Football – supports young people through health education and HIV testing

Lost Boyz Inc. (USA) Baseball/Softball – works in Chicago to decrease violence and improve social conditions

Monkey Magic (Japan) Climbing – promotes free climbing for those with visual impairment