Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
He will be against world No1 tennis player Novak Djokovic, Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, world MotoGP champion Mark Marquez and Renaud Lavillenie, the man who broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old pole vault world record.
Also Lewis Hamilton, who won his second world title last year, said: “Knowing how prestigious the Laureus Award is I feel very, very grateful and proud to be amongst the great athletes that have been nominated.
“It’s great when you have these awards, which recognise the excellence and the commitment from lots of different individuals. I’m proud to be amongst them. It’s quite a line-up. Rory’s done an amazing job. Ronaldo, what a great player he is, Djokovic, I mean he’s won everything. I could only have ever dreamed really, at this period of time in my life, to be up amongst them.”
Also nominated with Hamilton are his Mercedes AMG Petronas Team, which won the F1 Constructors’ world championship. They are up for the team award along with the European Ryder Cup Team, Germany’s World Cup winners and Real Madrid.
Tennis stars Serena Williams and Li Na are up for the women’s award, along with New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, who is unbeaten in the shot put in four years, and Ethiopian athlete Genzebe Dibaba, who broke three world records in two weeks. Skiing stars Tina Maze and Marit Bjørgen are also nominated.
Britain’s European Championship hero Jo Pavey, who won her first major gold medal at the age of 40, and Oliver Wilson, who, at 34 and lying 792 in the world rankings, won his first significant golf event in 228 starts on the European Tour, are both nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
The UK has a candidate for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award with Dame Sarah Storey being nominated after winning four world cycling titles in her first year back in action after giving birth to her daughter.
And Scottish trials cyclist Danny MacAskill is on the shortlist for Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after his latest venture, cycling the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye. In the first five days the video of the ride was watched by ten million on YouTube.
The winners will be revealed at the Awards Ceremony in Shanghai on April 15.
The full list of Nominees for the 2015 Laureus World Sports Awards is:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award:
Novak Djokovic - won Wimbledon for second time; replaced Rafael Nadal as world No.1
Lewis Hamilton - won second Formula One World Championship, with 11 victories
Renaud Lavillenie - broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old pole vault world record
Rory McIlroy – No.1 golfer in the world, won The Open and USPGA Major Championships
Marc Márquez - won his second straight World MotoGP title at the age of 21
Cristiano Ronaldo - winner of the Ballon d’Or/World Player of the Year award
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award:
Valerie Adams – The Kiwi undefeated in shot put for four years; was IAAF Women’s Athlete of Year
Marit Bjørgen – in Sochi the Nordic skier became most decorated female Winter Olympian
Genzebe Dibaba – athlete broke three world records in three different events in two weeks
Tina Maze – won two gold medals in the Winter Olympics, Slovenia’s first ever
Li Na – won second Grand Slam, reached world No.2 ranking, then had to retire
Serena Williams – won 18th career Grand Slam, level with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova
Laureus World Team of the Year Award:
European Ryder Cup Team – beat US 16½-11½, for third straight win and sixth in the last seven
Germany Men’s Football Team - became first European team to win the FIFA World Cup in South America
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team – won Constructors’ World Championship
Real Madrid – won a record tenth Champions League/European Cup victory
San Antonio Spurs - won NBA Championship for fifth time, beating Miami Heat 4-1
Switzerland Davis Cup Team – inspired by Roger Federer, won Davis Cup for the first time
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award:
Marin Cilic – won first ever Grand Slam at the US Open, beating Kei Nishikori in final
Mario Götze - scored the winning goal for Germany in the FIFA World Cup Final
Daniel Ricciardo – won three Grand Prix for Red Bull in his rookie year
James Rodriguez – won Golden Boot in FIFA World Cup as leading scorer
Mikaela Shiffrin – at 18 years 345 days became youngest Olympic Slalom champion
Switzerland Davis Cup Team – inspired by Roger Federer, won Davis Cup for the first time
