World’s greatest of all-time marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge will battle it out for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award with global superstars, including Bayern Munich scoring machine Robert Lewandowski.
Others in the six-man shortlist are 2021 Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, tennis star Novak Djokovic, American footballer Tom Brady and swimmer Caeleb Dressel.
This is the third time that Kipchoge has made the shortlist after making the shortlist in 2019 as well as in 2020 and will be hoping to finally grasp the prestigious world gong.
In 2021, Kipchoge became the third man in history to win a back-to-back Olympic Gold men’s marathon after running a commanding race at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
In the corresponding women’s award, US Open champion Emma Raducanu is nominated alongside Australian Open champion Ashleigh, Athletics stars Allyson Felix and Elaine Thompson-Herah as well as swimmers Katie Ledecky and Emma McKeon.
The winners will be announced in a virtual awards show in April.
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
PHOTO/COURTESY