Usain Bolt wins Laureus 'Sportsman of the Year' award
What’s the story?
World’s fastest man Usain Bolt has added another ‘feather in his cap’ after winning the prestigious Laureus 'Sportsman of the Year' trophy for a record-equalling fourth time. The Jamaican defeated the likes of other top contenders such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Basketball star Lebron James to bag the award.
Gymnast Simone Biles took home the award in the women’s category after reigning supreme at the 2016 Rio Olympics while Britain's Rachel Atherton won the action sportsperson of the year award for her downhill mountain biking feats.
The other awards that were presented included the ‘spirit of sport’ award which was won by English Football Club Leicester City for winning the Premier League title in 2016 and the ‘breakthrough of the year’ prize which was clinched by Nico Rosberg who quit Formula 1 in December five days after being crowned world champion.
In case you didn’t know…
Deemed the ‘Oscar of Sports’, the Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring remarkable individuals from the world of sports along with the greatest sporting achievements throughout the year.
The awards were instituted in 1999 and the first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo. Bolt has now joined tennis greats Roger Federer and Serena Williams as a four-time winner after winning three Olympic gold medals in Rio (one of which has been stripped of) last summer. After winning the award Bolt tweeted:
The heart of the matter
Bolt has previously won the award in 2009, 2010 and 2013. He received his award from legendary U.S. sprinter Michael Johnson, who urged him not to break other people's records.
What’s next?
For Bolt, who is set to retire from sports but not before slugging it out for the last time in the upcoming World Championships in London in August 2017, it was the perfect ending to his legacy. He expressed that he has won everything he wanted to win in athletics and now looks forward to a life away from sports.
Sportskeeda’s take
The fastest sprinter on the planet has broken every record and won every possible laurel that exists and set up a new benchmark which will be very difficult to surpass for the future sprinters, if not impossible.
Before bringing the curtains down on his incredible career Bolt will give his fans one last chance of having a glimpse of their favourite superstar, in the upcoming world championships in August in London. They will surely desire of a deja vu of the 2012 Olympics; we too are hoping for that victory pose ‘to-di-world.’