The 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards were announced in Seville, Spain on the 24th, and Elaine Thompson-Herah, a Jamaican sprinter and tokyo Olympic women's 100m champion, won the Best Female Athlete Award. Kenyan long-distance runner Kipchoge was previously shortlisted for Best Male Athlete, but the award was ultimately won by Dutch driver Max Emilian Verstappen, who won the championship at the Imola circuit in F1 on the 24th.
The Chinese Olympic diving team won seven gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics and was nominated for best team, but the award was ultimately won by the Italian men's team, which won the European Championships last year.
About the Lawrence Awards:
The Laureus World Sports Awards, founded in 2000 by Dailmer AG and Richemont, are one of the most influential awards in the world of sports and a global sports awards ceremony.
Lawrence means laurel in Latin, symbolizing victory. The annual Laureus Awards reward the world's most outstanding male and female athletes, first by more than 2,000 senior sports journalists from more than 70 countries and regions nominating the most outstanding athletes of the year, and then by the 52 members of the Lawrence Institute of Sport to vote for the winners, the Sports Academy is composed of the most outstanding retired athletes in various fields, each member has a brilliant historical achievement.
Born in 1992, Thompson is a sprinter from Jamaica who plays in the 60m, 100m and 200m. She is also considered one of the greatest sprinters of all time. Thompson won the honor of Women's Sport of the Year at the 2020 World Athletics Awards. She has previously won five Olympic gold medals, in the 100m and 200m at Rio 2016 and in the 100m, 200m and 4×100m relays at Tokyo 2020.
She is currently the fastest woman in the world, the second fastest woman in history in the 100m and 200m, and the athlete who has won the "sprint double" at the Olympic Games after Usain Bolt, also from Jamaica.
Thompson's current individual bests are 6.98 seconds in 60m in Birmingham indoors in 2017, 10.54 seconds in 100m in Eugene in 2021 and 200m 21.53 seconds at Tokyo 2021.
After winning the 2022 Lawrence Best Female Athlete Award, Thompson said, "I know Bolt has won this award before, so it makes special sense to bring this trophy back to Jamaica." Based on what I have achieved in the past year, I am very honored to be able to win awards among athletes in different sports. Bolt is currently the fastest man in the world and I will continue to follow in his footsteps. ”
"I want to say that I feel very proud now, but I can't dwell on the past, and although these honors are special, I can't do nothing, just say that I'm a two-time Olympic champion and I'm a five-time Olympic gold medalist. I have to keep running because my motivation is to be the best I can, I want to be the greatest female sprinter and I want to focus on my future. ”
Athletics legend and Lawrence Academy member Michael Johnson said at Thompson's award nomination, "She was an athlete who completely dominated the sport last year. It is very difficult to win consecutive championships in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and her results have a great impact on the world record, and no one has been able to threaten the world record for many years. ”
Thompson entered the Jamaica University of Science and Technology in 2012, known as the cradle of Athletics in Jamaica, but her first two years were not very impressive. Beginning in 2015, Thompson's performance began to improve by leaps and bounds, and then began to rush all the way to the top level. After defending her title at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she also pushed her legend to its current peak.
For the future expectations, Thompson is full of hope. She said people say women will peak at the age of 30, and this year she will be 30 years old and she hopes to reach a better peak state. Thompson is also looking forward to the Paris Olympics, but this year's season is also very tense, she will adjust her physical condition and try her best to cope with the necessary events.
It is worth noting that many Lawrence Best Female Athlete Awards have been won by tennis players, and this year, British tennis player Emma Raducanu won the Best Breakthrough Award, and she also paid tribute to Chinese tennis player Li Na, "You have always been my role model and my favorite tennis star." ”
British teenager Sky Brown, 13, won the Best Comeback award for her bronze medal in the women's park skateboarding event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Lewandowski received the Outstanding Achievement Award. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award goes to American football player Tom Brady, who said, "Sport crosses borders and races to bring people together in a positive way." ”