(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, March 24, 2009—A spectacular year of action has set up one of the most exciting contests ever for the 2009 Laureus World Team of the Year Award, featuring a high profile sporting battle between the most successful Olympic teams and the top football teams in the world.
The tenth Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the calendar year 2008, are widely acknowledged as the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The names of the Nominees, and the venue and date of the 2009 Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced by April 16.
The Jamaica Olympic Sprint Team made a near-clean sweep in Beijing, overwhelming the United States, the traditional powerhouse of sprinting. It was the first time one country had claimed so many medals since 1912. Usain Bolt won gold in the men’s 100 and 200 metres, Veronica Campbell-Brown successfully defended the 200 metres, and Shelly-Ann Fraser became the first Jamaican woman to win the Olympic 100 metres. The men’s team also won the 4x100 metre relay gold.
Zou Kai’s victory on the horizontal bars on the last day of competition in Beijing gave him his third gold medal and the China Olympic Gymnastics Team their ninth. It was a perfect ending to the host country's brilliant gymnastic display, giving it the best result ever in the discipline. China’s other gold medals came from Chen Yibing, He Kexin, Li Xiaopeng, and Xiao Qin. In addition to staging a spectacular Olympic Games, host nation China recorded their best ever Olympic results. The full China Olympic team led the final medals table with 51 gold, 21 silver, and 28 bronze.
The Great Britain cycling team won eight gold medals, four silver, and two bronze, dominating the sport. The individual gold medallists were Nicole Cooke, Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Rebecca Romero, and Bradley Wiggins. And there were team gold medals in the Men’s Team Pursuit and Men’s Team Sprint. The Germany Men’s Olympic Hockey Team beat Spain 1-0 to win the Olympic gold medal. Christopher Zeller’s goal in the 16th minute gave the Germans their first Olympic hockey title since 1992.
While the Olympics dominated the sporting scene in August, it was football that produced some sparkling team displays earlier in the year. The Spanish football team, under coach Luis Aragones, won the European Football Championship. It was Spain’s first major title for 44 years. They beat three-times champions Germany 1-0 in the final with a goal by Fernando Torres. Spain's total of 12 goals made the team one of the leading scorers, and Xavi was named Player of the Tournament.
Under coach Sir Alex Ferguson, English Premier League club Manchester United won their third European Cup/Champions League and also the English Premier League Championship in 2008. Just days after having secured their 17th English League title, they beat English rivals Chelsea on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21. The star of Manchester United’s season was Portuguese striker Crsitiano Ronaldo who scored 42 goals.
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