General

ZAGREB, January 3, 2009 - One of the greatest female skiers of all time, Croatia's Janica Kostelic, has been named as the newest member of the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme. Present in Zagreb to applaud the announcement, on the eve of the Snow Queen World Cup slalom race, were Laureus Academy members and skiing legends Franz Klammer and Alberta Tomba, Croatian Minister for Sport Dragan Primorac and event organiser Vedran Pavlek.

Janica Costelic is the first woman in skiing history to win four career Alpine Olympic gold medals, and the first to have won three Alpine gold medals in one Olympiad, at Salt Lake City in 2002. In her glittering career, she won a total of six Olympic medals, which made her the most successful woman in Olympic Alpine skiing history.  She was also World Cup champion in 2001, 2003 and 2006. 

An inspirational sportswoman, Janica has proved a courageous fighter, coming back from debilitating injuries.  To compete in Salt Lake City she recovered from three knee operations in 12 months to win gold medals in the giant slalom, slalom and combined events, and silver in the super-G. In her career she was nominated on five occasions for Laureus Awards, and in 2006 she was named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.

Mal Thompson, Laureus Director of Global Communications, speaking on behalf of Laureus Academy Chairman Edwin Moses at the announcement, said: "This is a very special day for Laureus and I am delighted to be able to welcome Janica as one of our Laureus global ambassadors.  She was a very passionate competitor and a legend in skiing and we are very lucky - as Laureus celebrates its tenth year - that she now wants to devote that energy and commitment to Laureus. I know that she will be an energetic worker for the causes that the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation supports."

Janica Kostelic said: "I would like to thank the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy for this honour. To win a Laureus Award from the members of the Academy was one of the greatest sporting honours in my life, and now to be able to join them in their work is overwhelming. I hope to be able to work with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in my native country of Croatia to set up projects here and use sport as the means to help underprivileged young Croatians."

Laureus Academy member and Austrian skiing legend Franz Klammer said: "I know how difficult it is to be best in the world at one skiing discipline, but Janica has been able to master them all.  Her record fourth Olympic gold medal gives her a real claim to be the greatest women's skier of all time.  In addition to being a brilliant skier, Janica had other outstanding qualities, particularly fighting spirit and versatility.  You expect knocks and injuries in skiing, but to come back from three knee operations in a year and then go and win three gold medals as she did in Salt Lake City was just one of the most unbelievable achievements in sport."

Fellow Laureus Academy member Alberta Tomba, Italy's three-time Olympic champion, said "We welcome Janica into the Laureus family and the profile she can bring to using sport to affect young people's lives in Croatia. We have been fortunate throughout our careers, but we all recognise that it is important to give something back to the young people to inspire them to make changes in their lives."

Italian football giant Fabio Capello has just celebrated his first year in charge of the England national football team.  To mark this anniversary, he talks at length on Laureus TV about the first 12 months and his hopes for the future.

Among Fabio Capello's comments are:

• On taking over England: "I knew English players, but not what this means around the national team. There is a lot of depression of the people."

• On the future: "You have to recover the spirit, you have to rebuild the group. And at the finish I think it's very, very important....to play without fear. Not nervous, never."

• On his key players: "Having the team with leaders - John Terry is one, Gareth Barry is a leader - is very, very important. These players helped me a lot."

• On victory in Germany: "This was the moment we create the group. Now I think I have 23, 24 players who can play in the national team."

• On World Cup qualifying: "I am waiting for the next game....against Ukraine. I hope the fans, the supporters will help us, because we need to win the game."

• On English football: "Here the football is more physically strong. The Spanish are more technical. In Italy more tactical. In England...you have to run. We don't fear the tackles, because the people like this."

To WATCH THE VIDEO PLEASE CLICK HERE

LONDON, December 14, 2008 - Laureus World Sports Academy member Sir Bobby Charlton has been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by British TV network BBC.  The presentation was made at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year show, one of the end-of-year highlights of the UK sporting calendar.

Sir Bobby follows fellow Laureus Academy members Sir Ian Botham in 2004 and Martina Navratilova in 2005 in receiving the Award.

Now 71, Sir Bobby helped England to World Cup victory in 1966, then led Manchester United to European Cup success in 1968, scoring twice in the final. He is now a Director of Manchester United.  The award, which recognised Sir Bobby's more than 50 years in football, was presented to him by his brother Jack Charlton, also a member of the England 1966 World Cup winning team..

Sir Bobby said: "I am knocked out with this. There are players here from the United team of 1968 and the World Cup team of 1966, which is in our history. If I played a little part in it then I am very grateful."

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: "I know what a big honour this award is in Britain and I congratulate the BBC on giving it to Bobby. He is not only a great footballing legend, but, throughout his life, he has been the living embodiment of sporting values. Even at 71 he is one of the most tireless workers for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. All his fellow Laureus Academy members send him our congratulations and our best wishes."

Charlton is England's all-time leading scorer with 49 goals. He also scored 249 goals for Manchester United in 758 appearances during a club career from 1953 to 1973. He was a survivor of the Munich air crash, which happened 50 years ago this year.

Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Sir Bobby Robson (2007), Bjorn Borg (2006), Pele (2005), Sir Ian Botham (2004), Martina Navratilova (2003), George Best (2002) and Sir Alex Ferguson (2001). Winner of the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award was British cyclist Chris Hoy, who won three gold medals in the Beijing Olympics.

LONDON, November 23, 2008 - Laureus World Sports Academy member Hugo Porta has been inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame. 

The greatest Argentinean rugby player in history, he was arguably the best fly-half in the world during the peak years of his career. More than anyone else, Porta attracted the attention of the world to rugby on the South American continent. His superlative kicking skills were credited as being the single major factor in the emergence of Argentina as a power in world rugby.

During his career Porta was Argentina's leader and their inspiration. He played for Argentina for over 20 years, scoring 408 points. He captained the side in 34 of the 57 matches he played and in 1987 led the Pumas in the inaugural Rugby World Cup. It is a testament to his skills as a player that when he finally retired in 1990 at the age of 39, he was still performing to his best.

A graduate of Buenos Aires University and an architect by profession, after serving his country for 19 years on the rugby field, Porta was appointed Argentina's Ambassador to South Africa in 1991, before returning home where he became Minister of Sport from 1996-1999.  He became a founder member of the Laureus World Sports Academy in 2000 and is President of the Laureus Foundation in Argentina.

Also admitted into the IRB Hall of Fame at a celebration in London, were the 1888 Natives Team of New Zealand and their captain Joe Warbrick, forefronners of the All Blacks, the Melrose Club in Scotland and Ned Haig, the inspiration behind the Melrose Sevens, British Lions legend Dr Jack Kyle and France's record breaker Philippe Sella. 

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "True to the spirit of the game and rugby's unique values, the 2008 inductees are individuals, clubs or teams who have left an indelible mark on the world game, its development and history.  All the nominees put forward by public vote were all worthy of high praise for their achievements and impact on the game."

SAO PAULO, November 2, 2008 - Laureus World Sports Academy member Mika Häkkinen says Lewis Hamilton can become "one of the greatest drivers of his era" after the 23-year-old Briton became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion following a thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix.

With Brazil's Felipe Massa victorious in the final race of the year at the Interlagos track, Hamilton needed to finish fifth or better to win the World Championship.  All was going well until a late rain shower forced Hamilton to stop for wet tyres which dropped him to sixth. But he sensationally passed Toyota's Timo Glock at the very last corner to take fifth place and secure the world title.

It was arguably the most dramatic end ever to a Formula One World Championship and will make Lewis Hamilton a strong contender for nomination for the 2009 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, and his team, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, contenders for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award.

Mika Häkkinen, twice World Champion in 1998 and 1999, said: "Lewis has achieved unique results so far if you consider his age, his commitment, his sacrifices, his very short career in Formula One and of course all his poles and podiums.  If you consider all this, and understand the complexity of the sport, it is definitively something special.

"If he continues to race in the future with the same commitment and desire to succeed, I think he will become one of the greatest drivers of his era."

Does Mika Häkkinen like Lewis Hamilton's determined style of driving?

"He is a racing driver and sometimes you need to take some risk to achieve the result, look at what I did in 2000 in Spa. (Häkkinen, and Michael Schumacher were about to lap Ricardo Zonta. Schumacher went around Zonda to the left, but Hakkinen brilliantly went around Zonta's right and outbraked Schumacher into Les Combes. A brilliant, audacious, race-winning move).

Häkkinen added: "It was risky, but I had to try it, if I wanted to win. We cannot really comment or criticise a driver for some of his manoeuvres as we are not in the car at the moment he has to make that split decision which may make the difference."

Lewis Hamilton has been compared to Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, does Mika Häkkinen agree?

"He is definitely a very talented race driver, we all agree on that. The potential is definitively there for a great future, but it is a bit early to start making comparisons as he has not achieved yet as many results as some of the past World Champions," says Häkkinen.

How much of Lewis Hamilton's success is down to him and how much to the car?

Häkkinen says: "It is team work, and therefore very difficult to say how many per cent is the driver and how many per cent is the team, but at the end the driver has the responsibility to carry all the research, development, partners investment to the win. He is the last and important link to that long chain of work."

Hamilton, who won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award last year, when in his inaugural season he only missed out on the World Championship by one point, said: "This is the dream. We have been working so long for the dream. It was one of the toughest races of my life.  I didn't know until they told me I was World Champion."

Ron Dennis, team principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, said: "That was a really tough race. We never pushed hard, we never did anything silly, but of course the late rain made things extraordinarily tense. But Lewis took his chance brilliantly, and the result was one of the most thrilling finishes in sporting history. I'm so proud of Lewis; I'm so proud of the team. Every single one of them did an absolutely fantastic job."

LONDON, October 13, 2008 - Edwin Moses has sent a message of support to Severiano Ballesteros, on behalf of the Laureus World Sports Academy, of which the legendary Spanish golfer is a member.

As has been reported, Seve, who was taken ill a week ago and has been having tests in a Madrid hospital, has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and will be receiving further treatment.

Moses, the Chairman of the Laureus Academy, said: "We wish Seve well, and we will be doing all we can to encourage and support him. 

"Over the last few years Seve has been one of the most enthusiastic Academy members and has been influential in the creation of the Spanish national Laureus Foundation.  Everyone who has had the pleasure of working with Seve in Spain and around the world sends him best wishes for a speedy recovery."

LONDON, September 11, 2008 - Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt, winner of three Olympic gold medals in Beijing, all in world record times, has given a wide-ranging interview to Laureus TV to mark the end of his remarkable year.  Watch the video on Laureus.com

In Beijing, Bolt won the 100 metres in 9.69 seconds and the 200 metres in 19.30 seconds, a time that finally beat Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world record.  He also won a third gold medal as Jamaica won the 4 x 100 metres relay.

After his phenomenal performance, the Jamaican, aged 22, is now known universally as ‘Lightning Bolt'.  His comments in the interview include:

• On Asafa Powell: "Yeah we're good friends, we mess around, we laugh, and stuff like that. But when we're on the track it's all about competition."

• What he said before he beat Michael Johnson's world record: "If I'm gonna get this world record, it's gonna be here because the track is fast. So I'm gonna just go out there and leave everything on the track."

• On next year: "I know that the US didn't do so well so they'll be working even harder to get back next season. Tyson Gay was injured so he's coming back even better."

• How fast can he go: "You can't put a limit on anything. They say anything is possible. So, I just work hard and do my best and try to stay focused and work hard."

• On Real Madrid: "They have invited me to train with them. I'll definitely go. I think Raúl and Van Nistelrooy are some of the best goalscorers ever. I've watched Van Nistelrooy from when he was with Manchester United, so I know he's a great guy."

BEIJING, August 21, 2008 - A glittering collection of Olympic and Paralympic champions came together at a special reception in Beijing organised by AIPS, the international sports journalists' association, and supported by Laureus, to celebrate the XXIXth Summer Olympics.

Six Olympic champions - Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Michael Johnson, Edwin Moses, Nawal El Moutawakel and Daley Thompson - plus Australia's Steve Waugh, one of the greatest cricketers of all time, all members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, were guests of honour at the highly successful event.

They paid tribute to a host of great athletes of today, which included 2007 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Yelena Isinbayeva, who won the pole vault gold medal with a new world record of 5.05 metres in Beijing, and Kenya's 3000 metres steeplechase champion Brimin Kiprop.  Also present was four-time Olympic medallist Don Quarrie, now head coach of the all-conquering Jamaican track team.

Also attending the event were Guy Sanan, Chief Executive Officer of Laureus, Gianni Merlo, President of AIPS, and a large number of the world's media.  The event was staged at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters in Beijing.

Among the guests were seven young representatives of the Special Olympics project which Laureus supports.  Laureus CEO Guy Sanan said: "I am particularly proud of this project in China that started seven years ago. And we also support a project based in Hong Kong, Operation Breakthrough, which helps underprivileged young people.  We are very proud of the work of the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation which is making great progress."

British Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson added: "The Special Olympics project is amazing.  It helps people with learning difficulties.  The fact that it is supported by Laureus is very important because not only will this change the attitudes of this generation but also the world view of what having a disability is like."

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: "Our work at Laureus seeks to harness the spirit of sport to bring people together and create a force for good, as does the Olympic Movement.  Sometimes sport can succeed in breaking down barriers where nothing else can. 

"The media's support for Laureus is so important.  It is the media who accompany us on our visits and inform the public about the work we do and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.  It is also the Laureus Media Selection Panel who vote for the nominees for the Laureus World Sports Awards.  I am sure that some of the terrific outstanding personal performances which we are seeing in Beijing will be reflected at next year's Laureus Awards Ceremony," he added.

There was no Tiger Woods in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, but there was no shortage of drama.  I found it enthralling to watch.  The rough weather may have affected the quality of the golf, but it did not affect the excitement and we had a thrilling Open Championship with a great winner.

I said in my preview on laureus.com that there would probably be too much going on for Padraig Harrington, as defending champion and with problems from a wrist injury, to win back-to-back titles, but how wrong I was.

Padraig made mistakes like everyone else in the extremely difficult conditions, but fewer than most people, and I felt over the four days he was the man hitting the ball the best and had the toughest mental approach.  He thoroughly deserved to win.  It is a great thing for Ireland and for European golf.  With the Ryder Cup just two months away, it is another reminder of the strength of European golf at the moment.

For the whole week a great deal of my attention was fixed on the remarkable performance of 53-year-old Greg Norman.  I was a great admirer of Greg when we played together and I particularly liked the flamboyant way he played his golf.  We both believed in going for our shots.

Greg sadly missed out on many major championships he should have won.  In 1986 he led going into the final round of every major, but only won one, the Open Championship at Turnberry, so I am sorry for him that he was not able to win on this occasion.  However you can only congratulate him on a fantastic achievement.  I believe he was only playing at Birkdale to warm up for the British and the US Seniors Open and after watching him play so well it left you wondering why?  It was as if he had never been away and he was immensely popular with the British galleries.  He gave as much enjoyment in this memorable championship as Padraig Harrington.

During the final round, there were times when it was almost as if Greg and Padraig were so involved in the battle between themselves, they began to let other people come into the contest.  First Greg tried to throw it away by having bogeys on the first three holes. Then Padraig matched him with bogeys on the 7th, 8th and 9th to hand the lead back.

But there always seems to be a decisive moment in major championships and for me this was at the 13th when Padraig played a sensible iron off the tee, a five-iron to the green and sank a birdie putt, while Greg had a bogey.  It left Padraig three ahead of Greg and from that moment he did not look back.  After that he was serene and I did not think he would be caught by Greg or anyone else.

His ball-striking just became better and better and on the 17th hole I thought he hit probably the best shot of the championship with a fairway wood over 250 yards on to the raised green for an eagle putt which gave him an unbeatable four shot lead. On the 17th tee he was leading by two and could have played safe, but here was a man in the zone. That is the way I think golf should be played.  It showed he was a winner.

I was a little disappointed by the performances of some of the British players who I was hoping would do better.  I thought the need for straight driving and good long irons would suit Lee Westwood, while Justin Rose and Paul Casey are players I admire, who I thought might have a good championship.  However you had to be impressed with the determination of Ian Poulter in the final round who was one of the few players on the final day who shot under par with a 69 and he thoroughly deserved to finish runner-up.

As far as Spaniard Sergio Garcia is concerned, I really thought this could have been his first major championship victory and I know how much he wanted it after losing in a play-off to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie last year.  I thought that he was one of the players who would be the least upset by the bad weather.

I think it all started to go wrong for Sergio when he had a double bogey 6 on the 11th in the second round after he hit a long iron left and long. He had looked in control of his game until then, but that seemed to stop him in his tracks.  And that reflected his tournament.  He would play a good shot, get a birdie and we all thought he was off and running, but then something would go wrong.  Sergio is a great confidence player.  You can tell by his look what mood he is in, and at Birkdale he never looked completely comfortable.  I am still sure that Sergio will win several major championships, he is too good a player not to, but it was a pity it was not at Birkdale.

For me, the most exciting round of the whole week was the 65 by Colombia’s Camilo Villegas on Friday.  He finished the round with five birdies on the last five holes – that would have been something I would have been proud of.  He did especially well at the 18th, where he hit a superb shot from the deep rough which hit the pin and could easily have dropped into the hole for an eagle.  In the end Camilo could not keep it going in the very tough conditions, but he showed what ability he has.  He is a very exciting player who goes for his shots as I used to do and if it does not quite work out as he intended then he has a great recovery game.  I think he is a breath of fresh air to golf.

Birkdale is very special to me as it was there in 1976 when I was 19 that I first  made  an  impact  on  world  golf by tying second with Jack Nicklaus behind  Johnny  Miller.  Also in 1998, Justin Rose, then 17 and an amateur, finished  fourth.   So  there  is  a  tradition  of  new good young players emerging.   This  year  I  very  much  enjoyed watching 20-year-old English amateur  Chris  Wood finishing joint fifth.  I thought he showed tremendous composure  and  I  will  be  watching his progress in the future with great interest.

LONDON, July 6, 2008 – Rafael Nadal won his first Wimbledon title in an epic men’s final which ended the five-year run of victories by Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer.  The success has made the 22-year-old Spaniard a strong contender for the 2009 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.

Federer, two sets down, staged a mighty comeback to level the score at 2-2, but there was no stopping Nadal, who hit the winning shot at 21.15 in near darkness on the Centre Court for a dramatic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7 victory.

Nadal is the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon titles back-to-back and he will be a favourite to be one of the six nominees chosen by the world’s media for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, which Federer has won for the last four years.

After the victory, Nadal, who won the 2006 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, said: “It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, but I'm very, very happy. It is a dream to play on this court, my favourite tournament, but to win I never imagined."

Laureus World Sports Academy member and tennis legend Boris Becker said: “That was truly one of the epic finals. Nadal has been the man of the championships this year for sure.  We all know he is a player of great power and energy, but at Wimbledon he showed incredible maturity and fantastic skill.  People questioned whether he could win on grass, but he showed he is a great winner on any surface.
Federer has been a great champion, and he lost in the style of a champion, coming back from two sets down to take it to a nail-biting climax.  We certainly have not seen the last of him.  But for now Nadal is the one.”

Federer, 26, had been trying to become only the second man to win six consecutive Wimbledon titles after Willie Renshaw, who played in the 1880s.  Nadal’s victory ended Federer’s unbeaten run of 65 matches on grass.