Laureus Sporting Weekend Round-up
July 6, 2015
Sporting weekends seldom come any bigger than this one. Our main highlights include the US Women’s Football Team winning the World Cup, MERCEDES AMG PERTRONAS drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg celebrating their sixth 1-2 of the season , Chile winning the Copa America at home, the beginning of an exciting second week at Wimbledon, and two Laureus Ambassadors make us proud in the world of cycling and triathlons.
In an incredible match, the he US Women’s National Team (USWNT) defeated Japan, 5-2 to win its first World Cup since 1999. It was also sweet revenge for the US after losing to Japan in the 2011 final on penalty kicks. It was an impressive performance from Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat trick just 16 minutes into the game, and football legend Abby Wambach was able to cap her career with the one major title that had eluded her. The US became the first team to win three women’s World Cups. Their goalkeeper Hope Solo won the tournament’s Golden Glove award, and Carli Lloyd won the Golden Ball after her six goals came in the knockout rounds, with three in the final. This World Cup win makes the USWNT a strong contender for a Laureus World Team of the Year Nomination.
Race leader Lewis Hamilton won his home Grand Prix at stormy Silverstone for his fifth top podium of the season. Teammate and Laureus Ambassador Nico Rosberg came second, securing MERCEDES AMG PERTRONAS’ sixth 1-2 of the season. Hamilton’s 38th victory, and his third at Silverstone, pushed him 17 points ahead of Rosberg in the F1 Driver’s World Championship race. If he can stay top of the race until the end of the season, he will clinch a second consecutive World Championship and look set for another Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Nomination.
The Chilean Men’s National Football Team got their hands on the first major trophy in their history on home soil following a penalty shootout win over favourites Argentina in the Copa America final. Their victory brought an end to almost a century of participation in that competition without ever claiming a title, despite being runners- up four times. The tournament featured some of the world’s best players including Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Colombia’s James Rodriguez, Brazil’s Neymar and Chile’s Alexis Sanchez. With their win, Chile will be looking to claim their first Laureus World Team of the Year Nomination.
Wimbledon begins its second week and the heavy favourites are still in the hunt to win the prestigious title. Roger Federer is looking to win his first major since Wimbledon 2012 and his 18th overall. Defending champion and reigning Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Novak Djokovic will look to win his second major of the year. British hope Andy Murray is looking strong and is eying his second crown at SW19. The big shock of the tournament so far on the men’s side was former champion and Laureus Award winner Rafael Nadal’s loss to Dustin Brown, a qualifier from Germany. On the women’s side, undisputed world No.1 Serena Williams survived a third-round scare against Britain’s Heather Watson but is still chasing the calendar Grand Slam. Former champion Maria Sharapova is looking to win her first Slam this year while defending Champion Petra Kvitova went crashing out to former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic. The winners will be crowned this weekend and, whoever they are, will be serious contenders for a Laureus Nomination.
Laureus Ambassador Fabian Cancellara has claimed the Yellow Jersey as riders set off on the third stage of the Tour de France, which is heading from the Netherlands into neighbouring Belgium. Cancellara, who is wearing the yellow jersey for the 29th day overall in his career, took the leader's jersey from Australian rider Rohan Dennis on Sunday’s second stage, where defending champion Vincenzo Nibali and former Laureus Award Nominee Nairo Quintana lost valuable time to Tour rivals Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. We will be keeping a close eye on the Tour de France as the battle for the Yellow Jersey intensifies.
Another Laureus Ambassador made us very proud over the weekend. 2008 Olympic gold medalist Jan Frodeno has won another major title with a record-setting effort at the European Ironman Championship in Frankfurt. Cologne-born Jan Frodeno set a new best time of 7 hours, 49 minutes and 48 seconds for the course on route to his first European championship, all under temperatures reaching almost 40 degrees Celsius. The Laureus Ambassador took the lead in the swimming and was able to maintain his advantage in the cycling. He finished almost twelve minutes ahead of second-placed Sebastian Kienle, the defending European and reigning world champion.
