Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis veteran, won the 2021 Laureus Sportsman of the Year against some phenomenal athletes.
The Spaniard won this prestigious award in 2011 and after a 10-year long gap, he again won the award. Further, he was nominated four times in the past. He has also won the Laureus award in the categories of Breakthrough and Comeback in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
An incredible honour for @RafaelNadal 🏆
He's the 2021 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year! 🙌
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 6, 2021
However, like each year, this time also the other contenders for the award were some top sportsperson from different sports. The nominee list had names like Joshua Cheptegei, Armand Duplantis, Lewis Hamilton, LeBron James, and Robert Lewandowski. Therefore, the 34-year-old tennis professional got excited to get his hands on the award.
Rafael Nadal and the other nominees for the 2021 Laureus Sportsman of the Year.
Rafa said, “I want to say thank you very much from the bottom of my heart to the Laureus Academy. I have had some amazing competitors. The rest of the sportsmen probably deserve the trophy the same as me, but this was the year for me and I can’t be happier.”
Who else won Laureus Award in 2021?
Naomi Osaka was the second tennis player to receive the Laureus Award this year, as she won the 2021 Sportswoman of the Year. The 23-year-old Osaka also won the Breakthrough award in 2019. Further, the American tennis legend, Billie Jean King, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Naomi Osaka won the 2021 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year.
The football club, Bayern Munich, won the Team of the Year. The Formula 1 veteran Lewis Hamilton picked the Athlete Advocate of the Year for actively raising his voice against racism. However, he was also nominated for the Sportsman of the Year.
👀 ICYMI…Here's a reminder of the 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards Winners #Laureus21
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 6, 2021
Canadian snowboarder, Max Parrot got an award for his comeback after recovering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Liverpool football, Mohammad Salah also received an award for Sporting Inspiration. Further, the American football quarterback, Patrick Mahomes got the Breakthrough of the Year.
