• Messi and Liverpool among the big-name nominees at Laureus World Sports Awards

    The 20th annual Laureus World Sports Awards will take place on Monday in Berlin, with Lionel Messi and Liverpool in the hunt.
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    Lionel Messi and Liverpool are among the front-runners for prizes at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin on Monday.

    Liverpool are up for two gongs after a wonderful year, as they won the 2018-19 Champions League and took a massive leap towards a first top-flight title in 30 years.

    Jurgen Klopp’s side look set to break a host of records this season, as they have dropped points in just one of their 25 matches and hold a remarkable 22-point lead over defending champions Manchester City in second.

    The Reds are in the running for two prizes in the Laureus Sports Awards’ 20th anniversary gala – World Team of the Year and Comeback of the Year, the latter on account of their astonishing Champions League semi-final turnaround at the expense of Barcelona.

    Among those challenging Liverpool for the former are the United States’ Women’s football team and the Toronto Raptors, who became the first Canadian franchise win an NBA championship.

    A selection of sporting superstars are up for the Sportsman of the Year award, with Barcelona and Argentina icon Lionel Messi among them following his record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or.

    Also in the running is Eliud Kipchoge after the Kenyan became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours last October, covering the 26.2 miles in one hour, 59 minutes and 40.2 seconds in Vienna.

    Ballon d’Or Feminin winner Megan Rapinoe is among those in the hunt for the Sportswoman of the Year gong, although gymnast Simone Biles also has a compelling case.

    The 22-year-old last year won five gold medals at the World Championships to become the most decorated gymnast in the event’s history, and has won this award twice before, in 2019 and 2017.

    The event will take place at the Verti Music Hall in Berlin on Monday. Below is a complete list of the awards up for grabs and the athletes nominated.

     

    Sportsman of the Year

    Eliud Kipchoge – Athletics
    Lewis Hamilton – Formula One
    Lionel Messi – Football
    Marc Marquez – MotoGP
    Rafael Nadal – Tennis
    Tiger Woods – Golf

    Sportswoman of the Year

    Allyson Felix – Athletics
    Megan Rapinoe – Football
    Mikaela Shiffrin – Skiing
    Naomi Osaka – Tennis
    Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – Athletics
    Simone Biles – Gymnastics

     

    Team of the Year

    Liverpool – Football
    Mercedes-AMG – Formula One
    South Africa – Rugby Union
    Spain – Basketball
    Toronto Raptors – Basketball
    United States Women – Football

    Breakthrough of the Year

    Andy Ruiz – Boxing
    Bianca Andreescu – Tennis
    Coco Gauff – Tennis
    Egan Bernal – Cycling
    Japan – Rugby Union
    Regan Smith – Swimming

     

    Comeback of the Year

    Andy Murray – Tennis
    Christian Lealiifano – Rugby Union
    Kawhi Leonard – Basketball
    Liverpool – Football
    Nathan Adrian – Swimming
    Sophia Florsch – Formula Three

    Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

    Alice Tai – Swimming
    Diede de Groot – Wheelchair Tennis
    Jetze Plat – Triathlon
    Manuela Schar – Wheelchair Racing
    Oksana Masters – Cross Country Skiing
    Omara Durand – Athletics

     

    Action Sportsperson of the year

    Carissa Moore – Surfing
    Chloe Kim – Snowboarding
    Italo Ferreira – Surfing
    Mark McMorris – Snowboarding
    Nyjah Huston – Skateboarding
    Rayssa Leal – Skateboarding

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