Superstars flock to London with their eyes on the prizes
2012 Laureus World Sports Awards, London, Tonight
LONDON tonight becomes the capital city of sport when some of the greatest names to have competed for medals, titles and championships gather for the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Hollywood star Clive Owen will host the premier global sports awards amid the majestic splendour of Central Hall, Westminster where stars of sport, stage, screen and fashion will honour and applaud those sportsmen and sportswomen who have proved so inspirational with their achievements and success.
Lennox Lewis, London-born former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world, and Arsene Wenger, the Frenchman who through Arsenal has made London his adopted home, are among a fabulous array of sports stars and personalities attending the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Nominees will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal, who was crowned Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011.
THE AWARDS
THE TOP sports names are in London for the Laureus World Sports Awards.
World No1 ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic, fresh from his extraordinary triumph in the Australian Open, has flown in specially to see if he has beaten the likes of football maestro Lionel Messi, Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel and Tour de France winner Cadel Evans to the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.
Those competing to become Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year include Yani Tseng, world No1 women’s golfer and winner of five Majors, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and IAAF world 100m title holder Carmelita Jeter. Messi’s mighty Barcelona are up for the Laureus World Team of the Year award, but they face strong competition from, among others, the All Blacks, holders of rugby union’s World Cup.
Will British be best? Red Bull was in the Team category too, with their all-conquering Formula One car, but they face strong competition from the England cricket team, still world No1 despite the current Test series against Pakistan.
How about world 5,000m champion Mo Farah, the epitome of focus and dedication, for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year? Or maybe the prize will go the way of Rory McIlroy, the toussle-haired golfer from Northern Ireland who won the US Open.
If McIlroy’s triumph was the product of a precocious talent, Darren Clarke’s victory in the Open Championship was born on a wave of sheer emotion. Beset by tragedy in his personal life, Clarke is a strong contender for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year. David Weir, the British Paralympic wheelchair athlete, last April raced to a fifth London Marathon title. That makes him a challenger for the Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
And don’t forget BMX rider Jamie Bestwick, nominated for Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year.