POSTED: Thursday February 4th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION JENSON BUTTON ONE OF FAVOURITES TO BE NOMINATED FOR LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Laureus World Sports Awards 2010
- World’s media vote for six Nominees for prestigious Laureus Award
- Juan Martin del Potro also strong contender after US Open win
- South Korea’s Y.E.Yang and Ji Yai Shin head strong golf challenge
- Laureus World Sports Awards to be held in Abu Dhabi on March 10
LONDON, February 4, 2010 - Britain’s Jenson Button is in pole position to be nominated for the 2010 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award following his first Formula One World Championship victory, at the age of 30, after 169 Grand Prix starts.
The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the period January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009, are recognised as the premier honours on the international sporting calendar.
The names of the six Nominees for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, as voted by the Laureus Media Selection Panel, will be announced next month.
The eventual winners, chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, will be unveiled during a televised Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.
Following the withdrawal of Honda at the end of 2008, Jenson Button was left without a drive until former Honda technical director Ross Brawn stepped in and engineered a management buyout of the team. Button then found himself in a highly competitive Mercedes-Benz powered car for the 2009 season. He won six of the first seven races of the year, equalling the record of Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark and clinched the World Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo with a race to spare.
Argentina’s young prodigy Juan Martin del Potro, 21, beat Roger Federer, the dominant tennis player of the decade, in five sets at the US Open in September to win his first ever Grand Slam title. It was Federer’s first defeat at the US Open since 2003. On his way to the final, del Potro also beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets. An attacking baseline player with a powerful serve and an excellent forehand, del Potro also finished as runner-up to Nikolai Davydenko in the ATP Finals.
Among the other favourites for nomination are no fewer than six golfers, including two from Korea. Y.E.Yang, 37, produced one of the most amazing golfing moments of the year, giving World No 1 Tiger Woods a two shot start in the final round of the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine yet still beating him by three shots. It was the first time that Woods had failed to win a major championship after holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. It was also the first major win for an Asian male. Ji Yai Shin, 21, led the money list on the LPGA Tour in 2009 in her first full year with over US$1.8 million prize money, also winning the LPGA Rookie of the Year Award. Despite a slow start, she won the HSBC Women’s Championship, the Wegmans LPGA and the P&G Beauty event. Also on the LPGA Tour, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, 22, made a dramatic breakthrough in her first year with her first major championship win in just her fifth tournament - the 2009 LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock. She also won the LPGA Tour Championship to complete a remarkable rookie year.
American Lucas Glover, 30, had an indifferent 2008, in which he only had two top ten finishes on the US PGA Tour and was ranked 105 th on the money list at the end of the year, but he made a dramatic breakthrough in 2009, winning his first major championship, the US Open at Bethpage in New York by two strokes from Ricky Barnes, David Duvall and Phil Mickelson. He had not made the cut in his three previous US Opens and the win took him to 18 th in the world rankings.
Scotland’s Catriona Matthew won her first major championship, the Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham, in August 2009, at the age of 39, and just 11 weeks after she had given birth to her second daughter Sophie. Her victory made her the first player from Scotland to win a women's major championship.
At 16 years and 61 days, Italy’s Matteo Manassero finished 13th and became the youngest ever winner of the amateur silver medal at the British Open since it was introduced 60 years ago, and the youngest to compete in the tournament in the modern era. A few weeks earlier he had become the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship in its 124-year history.
The World Athletics Championship in Berlin produced some strong contenders for Nomination. South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, from Limpopo, having reached the 800 metres final at four consecutive World Championships, finally made the breakthrough he wanted so much by winning the gold medal. Veteran javelin thrower Steffi Nerius, aged 37, who had never won a major world competition, finished her career in the most dramatic way possible, with a rousing victory in front of her home German crowd, taking the gold medal with a throw of 67.30 metres. And Poland’s Anna Rogowska claimed a huge upset victory in the pole vault when she took the gold medal and left Russia's world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva in tears. Isinbayeva had won gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and 2005 and 2007 World Championships and was a hot favourite.
Recognised as the fastest cyclist in the world, Britain’s Mark Cavendish, 24, won six stages of the 2009 Tour de France - a record for a Briton. He became the first Briton to wear the green jersey for two days in a row. Also in 2009 he won the Milan-San Remo Classic, known as one of the ‘five monuments of cycling’ and the Sparkassen Giro Bochum.
The German Beach Volleyball Team of Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann became the first European team to win the World Volleyball Championship, winning eight straight matches in Stavanger to take the most prestigious beach volleyball event outside the Olympic Games.
In the 2009 World Diving Championships held in Rome, talented young Briton Tom Daley, aged 15, won the individual 10 metre platform gold medal. Daley, who started diving at seven, made his name at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 where he became the youngest competitor to participate in a final.
In the 2008/09 season under Felix Magath, the former Bayern Munich manager, VFL Wolfsburg, a relatively small club from Lower Saxony, broke into the big time by winning their first Bundesliga title. During the season, Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in a Bundesliga season with ten successive victories after the winter break.
Laureus World Sports Academy Member and double Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen said: “Jenson Button thoroughly deserved to win the World Championship. He has certainly had to wait a long time for this, having taken part in 169 Grand Prix. And to do it in a revamped team which nearly went out of business in the winter makes it even more remarkable. His early season form when he won six out of the first seven Grand Prix was breathtaking. I hope he will be nominated by the world’s media, but this is a very strong category this year, so there will be strong competition to see who the Academy chooses as its eventual winner.”
H.E. Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Aabar Investments PJSC, host partner of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards, said: “We are delighted that Abu Dhabi has been chosen to host the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards. Sport is close to the hearts of all our people. Abu Dhabi is a city that harmoniously combines historic traditions and modern values. I am confident that active construction of sport facilities and creation of well-developed infrastructure makes Abu Dhabi an ideal venue for sports events of global significance. I am confident that our partnership with the Laureus World Sports Awards will be enormously successful.
“Aabar Investments PJSC, as the host partner of the event, is honoured to bring this prestigious occasion to Abu Dhabi and to play a pivotal role in an event that touches the lives of so many globally. As a universal language, sports have no boundaries and create a positive impact on future generations. Aabar hopes to enhance awareness of the importance of sport to society and to develop its relationship with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.”
Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, offers a fascinating combination of the old and the new; a blend of Arabic hospitality and mystique where a mixture of culture and tradition come together against a backdrop of the most modern world-class infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is developing a reputation as a great sporting venue. The Laureus World Sports Awards is the latest high profile sports event to be staged in Abu Dhabi. Last year FIFA chose Abu Dhabi to stage football’s World Club Championship, and the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship are now highlights of the sporting calendar in the city.
There is a two-part voting process to find the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. Firstly, a Selection Panel of the world’s leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters from over 150 countries votes to create a shortlist of six nominations in various categories including Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the Year, Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year. Then the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy vote by secret ballot to select the Award winners.
The Laureus Academy members also vote for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability and the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year, the nominations for which are made by specialist panels.
For further information please contact:
Mal Thompson
Laureus Global Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 2863
Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 2837
Email: publicrelations@laureus.com
Website: www.laureus.com
For photos of Laureus events please visit www.laureusarchive.com
NB: Information correct at time of going to press
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Patron of Laureus is Nelson Mandela. At the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000, President Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.” This has become the philosophy of Laureus; the driving force behind its work.
Laureus is a universal movement that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good. Laureus is composed of three core elements - the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus World Sports Awards and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation - which collectively celebrate sporting excellence and harness the power of sport to promote social change.
The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Severiano Ballesteros, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, David Douillet, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, John McEnroe, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexey Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.
The Laureus Academy members volunteer their services as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which was set up to promote the use of sport as a tool for social change. The Foundation addresses social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Since its inception Laureus has raised €20 million for projects which have helped improve the lives of more than one million young people. The Foundation addresses issues in particular involving, but not limited to, young people impacted by social exclusion, gun and gang violence, discrimination, community integration, peace and reconciliation, and education.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is the premier global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today. The Awards are presented at an annual Awards Ceremony, attended by global figures from sport and entertainment, which is broadcast to 100 countries and territories.
Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports over 70 community sports projects around the world.
Laureus was founded by its Patrons Richemont and Daimler and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and Vodafone.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz, the world’s oldest automaker, can look back on a unique tradition. It is the most valuable automotive premium brand which stands for quality, safety, comfort, fascinating design and sustainable mobility. Mercedes-Benz enjoys an excellent reputation, particularly in the area of safety technology. Many pioneering technical innovations that are standard automotive features today were first seen in a Mercedes-Benz car. The Mercedes-Benz engineers will in future consistently reinvent the automobile - with the same enthusiasm and innovation like Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886. Mercedes-Benz is a Global Partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since the beginning of the Foundations’ operations in 2000, Mercedes-Benz has shared and supported the goals and values of this worldwide charity programme where sports play the core role in the fight against social issues - Laureus has become a vital element of the corporate social responsibility programme of Mercedes-Benz.
IWC Schaffhausen
For more than 140 years, IWC Schaffhausen has been producing precision products of complex functionality and outstanding user-friendliness for watch connoisseurs who expect more from their watch than an accurate display. Since its foundation in 1868, the International Watch Company has built up a reputation as a long-established Swiss watchmaking firm with a passion for inventions, innovative solutions and technical refinements. Today the brand is more successful than at any time in its history. IWC uses this strength in a programme of corporate social responsibility initiatives at home and abroad. In 2005, IWC entered into a long-term commitment to become a Global Partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
Vodafone
Vodafone, the world's leading international mobile communications group, with over 323 million proportionate customers and equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and a further 40 partner networks worldwide, is supporting Laureus as a new Global Partner, with a five year agreement which began in 2008 and concludes in 2012. Vodafone is a long-standing supporter of sport sponsorship and is pleased to be part of an organisation that celebrates sporting excellence both at a grass roots level through the humanitarian work worldwide of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and at elite level through the annual Laureus World Sports Awards, which honours the achievements of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen.
Aabar Investments PJSC
Aabar is an investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Its largest stakeholder is the International Petroleum Investment Company, which in turn is wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Aabar is supporting Laureus as the host partner for the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards. Aabar is honoured to be given the chance to be part of the event and to bring it to Abu Dhabi. Aabar is looking forward to developing its relationship with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and introducing opportunities and projects to the region.
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Keywords · Laureus · Jenson Button · Juan Martin del Potro
Name: Mal Thompson
Organization: Laureus Global Communications
Email:
Phone: +44 (0)20 7514 2863
URL: www.laureus.com
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