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NEW YORK, August 30, 2010 - Laureus World Sports Academy Member Martina Navratilova and two-time Laureus Award winner Esther Vergeer have been honoured at the opening ceremony of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

The theme of the evening was ‘Those who dream, succeed and inspire' and Martina, who recovered from breast cancer earlier in the year, received an enthusiastic welcome from the New York tennis fans.

Martina won the US Open women's singles title four times in the mid-80s in a sparkling career which included 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 167 wins. She said: "It's the positive attitude that gets you through life and it is a choice. I've always been too much of an optimist where I sort of ignore bad stuff until it sits right there in front of me. I'm saying nothing is going to go wrong and, when it does, that's when I deal with it. That's how I've got through life. I think it's done me pretty well."

Martina, who will be climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in December to raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, said: "The climb is part of the approved treatment. Basically I'm cancer free now and you're encouraged to be very active. The more in good shape you are, the better you will deal with the treatment and also of course hopefully will keep it from coming back. And so it's life as usual."

Esther Vergeer, the world's greatest wheelchair tennis player, who is a member of the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme, twice won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award in 2002 and 2008, and was also nominated for the Award in 2006 and 2007.

Confined to a wheelchair after she lost the ability to use her legs following surgery for a spinal defect and brain haemorrhage, she started playing wheelchair tennis at the age of 12, and she has not lost a singles match since January 2003, an unbeaten streak of 391 matches. She will be defending her singles and doubles titles at the 2010 US Open Wheelchair Tennis Competition.

NEW YORK, August 28, 2010 - Laureus World Sports Academy Members Marcus Allen, Tony Hawk and Martina Navratilova hosted more than 150 children from four Laureus-supported community sports projects in New York City at the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day in Flushing Meadows, on the eve of the US Open.

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day serves as the U.S. Open's pre-tournament celebration for families. The day is a summer highlight whether the children love tennis, want to learn about tennis, or just want to have fun and hear some music. It provided a great opportunity for the young people from the various Laureus projects in New York City - World Boxing Gym, Fight Back, I Challenge Myself, Rusty Staub's Police and Fire Widow and Children's Fund - to mix together and exchange their experiences.

The day consisted of the US Tennis Association SmashZone, free tennis clinics, interactive games, face painting and a concert featuring the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and David Archuleta. In addition the day's agenda also included the chance to see the sport's top players including four-times Laureus Award winner Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters, current holder of the Laureus Comeback Award after her US Open win last year, and Rafael Nadal, winner of the 2006 Laureus Newcomer Award.

Also present was Esther Vergeer, the world's greatest wheelchair tennis player, who is a member of the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme and is a two-time winner of the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who won the US Open women's singles title four times in the mid-80s, joined former NFL star Marcus Allen and multi skateboard world champion Tony Hawk at Flushing Meadows to spend time with the young people.

Martina told them: "Money isn't the motivator. When I was young, no one else played tennis and it wasn't a big money sport. I'm glad you are here because the US Open is all about the spectators, and that's why you are at this event. You kids are real New Yorkers." And Hawk talked to the children about some of his own inspirational experiences. He said: "Skateboarding changed my life and gave me a sense of purpose. I was honoured to talk to these young people from difficult backgrounds in order to explain how sport can make a difference to everyone, not just sporting champions. It is an important lesson that is too often missed by today's youth." Marcus Allen added: "It's great that Laureus was able to bring kids from local projects to the US Open. Although it's so close, most of them would never have any interaction with their city's major tennis event."

Martina also talked later in the day about her plan in December to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres, 19,341 feet) in East Africa to raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Martina, who has recovered from breast cancer, said: "Climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro is part of the approved treatment. Basically I'm cancer free now and you're encouraged to be very active. The more in good shape you are, the better you will deal with the treatment and also of course hopefully will keep it from coming back. And so it's life as usual."

The Laureus visit to Arthur Ashe Kids Day was supported by Mercedes-Benz USA, the official vehicle of the US Open and Global Partner of Laureus. Stephen Cannon, Vice President of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA, said: "The AAKD kick-off to the US Open is an inspiring event for kids and an opportunity to create a positive environment for them to learn about tennis and personal skills from accomplished athletes that they can use to be more successful in their everyday lives."

Dan Mawicke, President of Richemont NA, Founding Patrons of Laureus, and a Board Member of Laureus USA said: "I couldn't agree more with Steve. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children and Laureus is grateful for the opportunity Mercedes-Benz provided."

The next initiative for Laureus in the United States is the launch a fitness campaign with a ‘kids total fitness' message. Laureus sportsmen and women along with celebrity chefs are teaming up to educate children about the importance of sport and nutrition, which received enthusiastic backing from Tony Hawk. He said: "I am really excited about the Laureus Foundation in the US and I hope to see its profile rise. I'm here and anything I can do to help, I'll do. It's a real honour for me to be a part of the Laureus Academy, among all these sporting legends."

KOHLER, WISCONSIN, August 15, 2010 - German golfer Martin Kaymer won his first major championship when he beat American Bubba Watson in a three-hole play-off to take the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

Kaymer becomes the third first-time major championship winner in a row this year after Louis Oosthuizen won the Open Championship at St Andrews in July and Graeme McDowell captured the US Open in June. All three seem certain to feature as possible Nominees for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.

At 25, Kaymer has secured his first major championship at a younger age than South African Oosthuizen, 27, and McDowell, from Northern Ireland, who was 30 when he won at Pebble Beach.  Kaymer also becomes only the second German major championship winner after Bernhard Langer, who won the US Masters in 1985 and 1993.

Laureus World Sports Academy Member Gary Player, one of only five men to complete golf's Grand Slam, said: "Martin Kaymer's win was a terrific performance by the young man. This has been an amazing year for golf with Louis Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell also becoming first time major championship winners. And there are still plenty of other great young golfers out there, like Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa and Anthony Kim, who I am sure will all win majors one day. Golf is refreshing itself, as it always does, and it's great for the fans. I still expect to see Tiger Woods come back to his best at some point, so we are in for an exciting few years."

Kaymer said after holing the winning putt: "It was an amazing feeling on 18 with two putts to win - that felt pretty cool. I don't realise what has just happened. I just won my first major and I am just on Tour for four years. I have goosebumps."

The US PGA Championship will also be remembered for the ruling that cost American Dustin Johnson the chance to take part in the play-off after being penalised two shots for grounding his club in a patch of sand that he did not realise was a bunker.

Gary Player said: "I was sorry Dustin Johnson missed the opportunity to take part in the play-off, but it seems to me the rules were pretty clear and had been explained to the players. It was just an unfortunate episode and I hope he bounces back quickly."

ZURICH, August 22, 2010 - Swiss cycle star Fabian Cancellara, the world's best time trial rider, led the Laureus team to victory for the second straight year in the Tortour, a 1000km non-stop team cycle race around Switzerland, which raised funds for the Laureus Foundation Switzerland.

Teams of six cyclists take it in turns to complete individual stages and join together to compete in the exhilarating team stages. All of this after a testing team time trial to decide on starting positions.  Dubbed the Tortour - a play on the words torture and tour- the target was to raise €20,000 for the Laureus Alpino project.

Olympic champion Cancellara, who is a triple World Time Trial Champion, said: "This was something totally different for me though I was excited about the ride through the night. I cannot imagine life without cycling. Sport is an important part of life. Unfortunately, there are many children, even here in Switzerland, who have no access to sport, which is why I want to lend my support and help the Laureus Foundation as an ambassador."

For the four day event, Cancellara had a very different squad compared to his normal Saxo Bank team.  In his team of six were triathlete Ronnie Schildknecht, extreme athlete Martin Schlagenhauff andGeorges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, a board member of Laureus World Sports Awards Ltd.

None of the participants will ever forget the fantastic scenery along the Swiss borders, the route which included 15,000 metres of climbing, the challenging night stages, the sleep deprivation and also the tremendous team-spirit and the pride to have accomplished something extraordinary together.

LONDON, August 24, 2010 – Laureus World Sports Academy Members Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and Daley Thompson have both applauded the initiative of London Mayor Boris Johnson in creating a £4 million (€4.87 million) fund for sports projects to help tackle crime, unemployment and social problems.

The funds, between £50,000 and £250,000 for individual projects, will be available for organisations running sports-based activities that bring about positive social change in the community.

British Paralympic legend Dame Tanni, the Vice Chair of the Laureus Academy, said: “I welcome Boris Johnson’s announcement that he is to create a £4m fund for sports projects specifically targeted at tackling social issues.. This is exactly what the Laureus World Sports Academy has been saying for the last ten years and why the Academy formed the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation - sport can really make a difference. We support over 80 sports-based projects around the world which translate this philosophy into action and which have helped to improve the lives of more than one million young people.”

Double Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson, who led the Laureus Breaking the Cycle of Violence bike ride from Manchester to London last year, which highlighted some of the solutions sport can provide to the growing problems of youth crime and gang violence, said: “This is great news and I hope it marks a major watershed in the way we think about sport. Laureus already supports sports-based projects in London which are doing just what the Mayor says which tackle problems such as juvenile crime, underachievement and health issues, and quite frankly the opportunities are limitless.”

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation already supports four projects in London – Laureus Urban Stars which is developing a National Curriculum for using sport to tackle gang and knife crime, Midnight Basketball in Lambeth which offers basketball sessions to keep at risk young people off the streets at night, Fight for Peace in Newham which uses boxing and other martial arts to offer an alternative activity to crime, gangs and gun and knife violence, and Street League which improves participants physical fitness, allowing them to develop a better quality of life, acquire life skills and qualifications and offer progression pathways into employment.

In his announcement, Mayor Boris Johnson said: “The beauty of sport is its ability to get people together from all backgrounds to join in positive activity. As well as helping young people to stay healthy, it can provide immense mental stimulation and help tackle issues such as crime, educational underachievement and a lack of community cohesion.”

KITZBUHEL, AUSTRIA, August 15, 2010 – Laureus World Sports Academy Members Franz Klammer and Alberto Tomba were among the special guests who enjoyed the penultimate round of this year’s Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship in Kitzbuhel.

Klammer, Austria’s legendary downhill racer, and Tomba, Italy’s greatest skier, were in Kitzbuhel as part of the link-up between triathlon and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which for the remainder of this year and 2011 will be the official Global Charity Partner of the International Triathlon Union (ITU)

Tomba presented the men’s trophy to Britain’s Stuart Hayes while Klammer handed over the women’s trophy to Canada’s Paula Findlay. The two skiing giants spoke warmly about the tie-up between Laureus and triathlon and received an enthusiastic welcome from the spectators at the Schwarzsee.

Franz Klammer, who famously won the Downhill gold medal in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck and won a total of 26 World Cup races in his career, said: “This was a day to remember, watching some of the greatest athletes in the world and I have nothing but admiration for their skill and their stamina. And it is very good to be able to cheer on the other runners too who are not trying to win the world title, but just do it because they love it or because they want to raise funds for charities like Laureus.”

And Alberto Tomba who won three Olympic gold medals and 50 World Cup races in a spectacular career, said: “I was particularly delighted to be able to present the prizes for the children’s race on Friday. These young people are the future and to see them all taking part in sport and becoming fit and healthy was great. Franz and I were able to talk to many people about the work of Laureus so I hope all the triathletes and the spectators are able to understand a little more now of what Laureus does to improve the lives of young people around the world.”

Also taking part in the ‘age-group’ event was German Formula One star Nico Rosberg, the 25-year-old Mercedes GP Petronas driver. Rosberg completed the course, which consisted of a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run, in an impressive time of 2 hrs 7.33 mins. Rosberg was delighted to beat his Formula One rival Jenson Button, from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, who clocked up a time of 2 hrs 14.15 mins in London last month.  Rosberg said: “It was a great event, very tough, but I had a lot of fun. I had absolutely no energy left at the end of the race, I am very impressed by the people who do this.”

In the men’s elite race Stuart Hayes finished ahead of Spain’s Javier Gomez, who has won the last two rounds in Hamburg and London, and Olympic champion Jan Frodeno, who was third.  In the world standings Frodeno has 2,910 pts, ahead of Gomez on 2,679 and Russia’s Alexander Brukhankov on 2,388.

Frodeno was one of three leading triathletes, along with Emma Snowsill and Simon Whitfield, who attended the Laureus supported Midnight Basketball project in South London last month during the weekend of the World Championship race in Hyde Park.

In a matter of weeks, 21-year-old Canadian Paula Findlay has gone from a relative unknown to one of the top triathletes in the world. Findlay won her second race in a row in Kitzbuhel with Sweden’s Lisa Norden second and New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt third.  However Australia’s Emma Moffatt, who finished fifth, still leads the women’s standings with 2,696 pts ahead of Hewitt on 2,644 and Norden on 2,440.

The final race of the 2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series will be the Grand Final in Budapest on September 11-12.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain and batsman, became a national hero when he masterminded a remarkable revival in the fortunes of the England cricket team, culminating in a famous Ashes series victory over Australia in 2005.  Calm and determined, with the ability to stay unflustered even when things were going wrong, Vaughan captained England in 51 Tests between 2003 and 2008, winning 26 – an England record - and losing just 11.

Born in Manchester, Vaughan’s family moved to Sheffield in South Yorkshire when he was nine. He was spotted by Yorkshire head coach Doug Padgett and joined the county’s junior academy when Yorkshire finally rescinded their policy of picking only players born in the county.   

He was appointed England captain for One Day Internationals at the start of the 2003 season and became England Test captain in July 2003.  Under Vaughan, England won six Test series in succession, beating the West Indies (twice), New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and most famously Australia. The victory in the West Indies was the first time in three decades an England team had achieved such a feat. The 2-1 series win in South Africa in 2004/05 was also memorable, setting up as it did the Ashes victory over Australia the following summer.  

In the Ashes series, as well as his brilliant leadership, there was also a personal triumph for Vaughan. Returning to Old Trafford in his home city of Manchester for the Third Test match, he made a brilliant 166 to become the first man in the series to score a century.

As a classy and composed right-hand batsman, he had scored 5,719 Test runs up to 2008.  His most successful period came in the early part of the decade.  He scored 900 runs in seven Tests against Sri Lanka and India in 2002, the prelude to a brilliant Ashes series in Australia in 2002/03 where he became the first visiting batsman for 32 years to top 600, finishing with 633 runs, including three centuries. His performances there made him the No.1 batsman in the world rankings.

A recurrence of an old knee injury meant that Marcus Trescothick stood in for the first Test of the post-Ashes era in Pakistan and the seriousness of the issue really became clear three months later in India, when Vaughan was forced home for a series of operations.  He also suffered from hamstring problems.  His form was never as consistent, but he was still able to return as England captain and ultimately he overhauled Peter May's record of 20 wins as England captain, eventually setting a new record of 26.

One of the greatest footballers of all time, Ruud Gullit personified the concept of ‘Total Football’ exhibited brilliantly by the Netherlands team in the 1980s and 1990s.  It was as Netherlands captain that Gullit achieved his greatest success.  He was a star of the European Championships in 1988, scoring the opening goal against the USSR in the final with a powerful header in a 2-0 win, and thus becoming the first man to captain the Dutch team to victory in a major international championship.  

Gullit was capable of playing in several positions, using his speed and strength to great effect. Tall and powerful, he also possessed balance and poise which combined with his vision made him one of the most graceful players of his era. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.

With Gullit in the side, the Netherlands travelled to the World Cup in Italy in 1990 as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected, and knee injuries reduced Gullit's effectiveness. The Dutch lost 2-1 in the second round to Germany who went on to win.

From a poor background, Gullit developed his football skills in the confines of the Rozendwarsstraat where street football was instrumental in his formative years. Gullit's first team were the Meerboys, whom he joined as a junior in 1970. However, at the age of 10 Gullit moved from the Jordaan to Amsterdam Old West where he played street football alongside another Dutch football star Frank Rijkaard.

He played for Haarlem and Feyenoord, before making his name at PSV Eindhoven where he began to establish himself as a world class footballer with his distinctive dreadlocks.   He joined Italian club AC Milan in 1985 for a then record fee of £6 million. He helped Milan win the league title in his first season - the club’s first in nine years - which laid the foundations for two successive European Cup wins.

Gullit left AC Milan for Chelsea in 1995 and became player-manager a year later, guiding the London club to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, the club’s first major trophy for 26 years. Chelsea also finished sixth in the Premier League.  The following season he left Chelsea after disagreements with the board.  He also had brief spells as manager at English club Newcastle, Rotterdam club Feyenoord and  Los Angeles Galaxy.

Gullit helped to launch the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in the Netherlands in Amsterdam in 2009.