The nominees for the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards were announced on 11th January. The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognize sporting achievement during the calendar year 2010, are the premier honors on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy will be unveiled at a televised Awards Ceremony staged in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 7th February.

Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn is in the running for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award. She will be competing against three-time Laureus winner Serena Williams, along with two other tennis players, Belgium's Kim Clijsters and Denmark's world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, and track and field athletes Jessica Ennis of Britain and Croatian high jump sensation Blanka Vlasic.

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal will be hoping to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year accolade. He will be up against Germany's Sebastian Vettel, youngest winner of the Formula One World Championship, Philippines' boxer Manny Pacquiao and, for the first time ever, three stars from team sports - LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant and Barcelona footballers Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Snowboarder Shaun White (USA) is going against the world's two top surfers - Australia's Stephanie Gilmore and American Kelly Slater - among others, as a candidate for the Laureus World Action Sports Award.

The nomination process involved the leading sports journalists from across the globe, the announcement of contenders such as Kobe Bryant, Rafael Nadal and Lindsey Vonn suggests the 2011 awards could be one of the most exciting and closely contested ever.

In a recent voting by the members of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), 515 sports journalists from 93 nations selected Spanish tennis juggernaut Rafael Nadal and Croatian high jump queen Blanka Vlasic as the two best athletes of 2010. Vlasic beat the best female skier Lindsey Vonn to 2nd place by 202 votes (884 against 682), with Maria Riesch taking 7th. The male best skier was Carlo Janka in 9th place with 152 votes.

Not surprisingly Spain's victorious FIFA World Cup 2010 team took the honor for AIPS Best Team 2010, well ahead of the Canadian national hockey team with 1906 votes to 486.

The AIPS Best Press Facilities award went to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa. Staged across nine cities and in 10 venues, FIFA and the local organizing committee provided free wireless internet at all venues and press centers for thousands of international and local media. The Vancouver Winter Olympics press facilities came in second.

FISalpine.com
Thursday 13 January 2011

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