Nominees

Daniel Dias

Brazil's Daniel Dias set the pool on fire in the 2008 Paralympic Games at the age of 20, becoming the leading medal winner in Beijing with four gold, four silver and one bronze.

Matthias Steiner

Venus Williams

Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitchko was born in Kirghiztan on 19 July 1971 son of Vladimir and Nadia Klitchko. After finishing school, Klitchko studied sports sciences at the University of Kiev, Ukraine. He finished his studies with his doctorate.

April Holmes

Lewis Hamilton

It was arguably the most dramatic end ever to a Formula One World Championship with Hamilton passing Timo Glock at the very last corner of the last Grand Prix of the season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to finish fifth and secure the points he needed to clinch the title ahead of Felipe Massa, who won the

Julien Absalon

Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi, as usual, was many people’s favourite to win the World MotoGP championship in 2010, so it was no surprise that the new season began with Rossi winning the first race in Qatar after early leader Casey Stoner crashed out.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic became the dominant player in men’s tennis in 2011, winning three Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open - and taking over the world No 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal on July 4.

Usain Bolt

Bolt finished the season in style, winning the Diamond League 100 metres in Brussels in September in 9.76 secs, the fastest time of the year.