Tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka along with teen sensation Coco Gauf are competing for this year's Laureus Awards after being nominated in different categories on Wednesday.
Three-time winner and world number one Spaniard Nadal is in contention for the 'World Sportsman of the Year' award alongside six-time Formula 1 World champion Lewis Hamilton, six-time World MotoGP champion Marc Márquez and six-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi.
Also nominated in the same category are Eliud Kipchoge, the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours and golf legend Tiger Woods, who won his 15th Major Championship at The Masters.
The awards Ceremony will be held in Berlin on February 17.
In the 'World Sportswoman of the Year' category, Osaka, the first Asian tennis player to be ranked number one in singles is competing with FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner Megan Rapinoe, gymnastic great Simone Biles, sprinters Allyson Felix and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce along with US skiing great Mikaela Shiffrin.
FIFA Women's World Cup champions USA Women's Football Team and UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool FC are the football nominees in the Laureus World Team of the Year category.
Joining them are six-time Formula 1 Drivers and Constructors World Champions Mercedes AMG Petronas, Rugby World Cup champions South Africa, the first Canadian team to win the NBA Championship Toronto Raptors and two-time FIBA World Cup winners Spain Men's Basketball Team.
Gauff is joined in the 'World Breakthrough of the Year' category by Canadian tennis player and the first woman to win the US Open on her debut Bianca Andreescu, Colombia's first ever Tour de France winner Egan Bernal, Rugby World Cup trailblazers Japan Men's Rugby Team, former unified heavyweight boxing champion Andy Ruiz Jr and US swimming star Regan Smith.
The 'World Comeback of the Year' nominees personify the true spirit, determination and tenacity of athletes who have overcome hurdles to return to the playing field.
Andy Murray, who won his first ATP title in 31 months at the European Open following two hip operations, is in contention alongside UEFA Champions League semi-final comeback kings Liverpool, unusually nominated in two categories.
Also nominated are 19-year-old German Formula 3 driver Sophia Flörsch, who returned to racing after her car hit a fence at 170mph during a race in 2018, Australian rugby star Christian Lealiifano, who returned to represent his country in the Rugby World Cup after battling leukaemia, basketball star Kawhi Leonard, who overcame injury to help the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA Championship and US swimmer Nathan Adrian who recovered from testicular cancer to win his 15th and 16th world titles.
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