History maker Eliud Kipchoge has been nominated for the Sportsman of the Year in Laureus World Sports Awards alongside superstars Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods and Lewis Hamilton.
The prestigious annual global awards will be held in Berlin, Germany on February 17th 2020.
Kenyan Olympic champion Kipchoge defended his London Marathon title 2019 and made history by becoming the first man to run a marathon under two hours, clocking 1:59:40 at the Ineos challenge.
However, the world marathon record holder will face stiff challenge from Formula One star Hamilton who won a sixth world Formula One title last year.
American golfer Tiger Woods is named in the category after winning his 15th major title at the Masters in April 2019.
Messi is a world-renowned professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He has also won a record six Ballon d’Or awards
Gymnast Simone Biles is bidding for her third Sportswoman of the Year Award and is among six nominees including USA footballer Megan Rapinoe, who claimed the Women’s World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot.
Boxer Andy Ruiz Jr is listed for the Breakthrough of the Year award after his 1 June win over Anthony Joshua and the winners of each category – voted for by the 68 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – will be named in Berlin on 17 February.
The full list of nominees sportsman of the year are as follows:
Lewis Hamilton (GB) – Formula 1
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) – Athletics
Marc Marquez (Spain) – Motorcycling
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Football
Rafael Nadal (Spain) – Tennis
Tiger Woods (USA) – Golf
Eliud Kipchoge won top awards in 2019, the BBC Sports Personality’s World Sports Star of the Year Award and the IAAF World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.
This article was first published by Capital Sports.
