A sporting weekend to remember
August 24, 2015
Sport is the best kind of reality TV. No other form of live entertainment keeps us at the edge of our seat, has us holding our breath and makes our heart skip a few beats. We cheer, we laugh, we cry, we gesticulate and yell wildly at the TV and know to expect the unexpected.
Rainy Monday mornings are a time for reminiscing and only heighten our admiration of the athletes that made us dream over the weekend while we watched them perform the impossible on the fields, courts, tracks and courses of the world.
Indeed, we just witnessed one of the biggest sporting weekends of the year so far and it did everything but disappoint. Many Laureus Award winners were out in force in their respective disciplines and their extraordinary performances reminded us why we love sport so much.
It was dubbed as the race of good vs. evil. Three-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Usain Bolt produced perhaps the greatest victory of his career, beating the controversial sprinter and clear favourite Justin Gatlin to the 100m title at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing in a time of 9.79sec. A magical moment in the Chinese capital, which saw Bolt keep his legendary status as the fastest man in the world. Laureus Academy Member and sprinting star Michael Johnson, who won eight World Championships gold medals in his career, said on the BBC Sport panel: "I'm amazed. This is Usain Bolt's best race ever. He knew it was a completely different set of circumstances for him. He'll be most proud of this win without a doubt."
It was lucky number 13 for 2013 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Jessica Ennis-Hill. She once again became world champion, 13 months after giving birth and three years after her last major championships. Her incredible achievement in winning with a total of 6,669 points following consistently impressive results in the long jump, javelin and 800m on Sunday could see her land a spot on the 2016 Laureus World Comeback of the Year shortlist.
Together, they share six Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Awards. Tennis legends Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic squared off for the 41st time, with a 20-20 head-to-head at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 final on Sunday. Djokovic, who was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a second time only a few months ago, was looking to become the only player ever to win every Masters 1000 tournament on the ATP World Tour calendar. But he was to be denied by a brilliant Roger Federer who rolled back the years to beat the No.1 player in the world 7-6 6-3. Both players now have each won 24 Masters 1000 titles and look in top form ahead of next week’s US Open, the last Major of the Year.
She is unstoppable! Three-time Laureus Award winner Serena Williams won the women’s event in Cincinnati for her 69th singles title. The world No.1 beat third seed Simona Halep 6-3 7-6 (7-5), and is now looking to complete a calendar Grand Slam as she heads to her home slam in New York next week. After Grand Slam victories in Melbourne, Paris and London, winning in New York will undoubtedly make her the strong favourite for a third Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Super-fast Lewis Hamilton, who won the 2008 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year, beat Mercedes team-mate and Laureus Ambassador Nico Rosberg to take a dominant win at the Belgian Grand Prix. The reigning world champion converted pole position into a lead on the first lap and was in control throughout the race, taking his sixth win of the season and extending his lead to 28 points. Lotus's Romain Grosjean took third after a rear tyre failure on 2014 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari with two laps to go.
Following a season plagued with injury and poor form, today’s honourable mention goes to two-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, Tiger came up just short in the 11th hour and shot even-par 70 in the final round of the Wyndham Championship to finish tied for 10th place, four shots behind 51-year-old winner Davis Love III. It was, however, Wood’s best finish of the season and something positive to build on.
Some of the above names are sure to feature in the Laureus World Sports Awards Nominations shortlist. Who do you think will be nominated and is #LaureusWorthy? Join the debate on twitter!
