Laureus Awards Highlights
World Surfing Champion Stephanie Gilmore with her award for 'Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year'.
A sneak peak at the glamour of the Laureus Awards.
The Laureus World Sports Awards for 2010 were held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Winners included Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Jenson Button, Kim Clijsters, Natalie du Toit, Stephanie Gilmore and Nawal El Moutawakel.
Jenson Button, who received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year' award,and Tony Hawk.
Kenny Belaey performs on stage during the Laureus World Sports Awards 2010.
South African Natalie du Toit also walked away with an award.
Nick Fry with Mika Hakkinen and Franz Beckenbauer.
The Laureus Sports Awards
HAVE YOUR SAY: Who do you think deserves a Laureus Award?
Semenya Still Waiting
Caster Semenya’s future remains in doubt, with no further progress having been made on the gender verification tests that began last summer following the South African teenager’s world title win in the 800 metres.
The International Association of Athletics Federations said today that the medical results were still pending in the case of the 19-year-old and discussions with Semenya’s legal representatives, Dewey and LeBouef, are ongoing.
That will come as a disappointment to Semenya’s supporters who had been promised a resolution months ago, a public announcement having been planned to coincide with the IAAF council meeting in Monaco last November. Instead the case drags on.
“The IAAF and Caster Semenya’s representatives are still in discussions with a view to resolving the issues surrounding her participation in athletics,” said Nick Davies, the IAAF communications director. “As a result no further comments will be made on this subject by the IAAF until further notice.”
Semenya’s absence at the World Indoor Championships, at which the 800m heats begin tomorrow, will be conspicuous. The Limpopo province teenager would have been the clear favourite to take the indoor title; instead Britain’s Jenny Meadows will compete for the gold medal against the in-form Russians Yevgeniya Zinurova and Mariya Savinova. All three have broken two minutes this season, the only women to have done so.
Semenya has not raced since the controversy broke. She had been expected to time her comeback with the start of the domestic season in February but confusion among South Africa’s sporting governing bodies over whether she is eligible to compete has clouded the issue. The IAAF, however, insists she is not officially suspended from competition.
With thanks to the guardian.co.uk
Lunching With The President
Padraig Harrington
Two-times British Open winner Padraig Harrington will be a guest of US president Barack Obama at the White House St Patrick’s Day party next week, said the Irish golfer.
“I got an invite to go to the St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House, I won’t say it’s perfectly convenient, but it’s worked out obviously as I’m in the States,” said Harrington, who will be playing at a tournament near Tampa in Florida next week.
“I can fly up and come back down in the same day and meet the President – it’s very nice,” said the 38-year-old.
Dubliner Harrington, ranked 13th in the world and in the States for this week’s WGC-CA Championship at Doral, said he was hoping to get a chance to evaluate the president at close range.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s something different. You know, obviously President Obama is one of the most charismatic people of the world, one of the most powerful people in the world; you want to meet these people and see what they are like and get your own judgment on things.
“You can tell a lot when you meet somebody, so I’m looking forward to that and plus, I’ve never been to the White House.”
Courtesy of Stuff.co.nz
Hamilton Aims To Thrill, In Cinema
Lewis Hamilton and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.
Lewis Hamilton already has the fast cars, the beautiful woman and a licence to thrill.
What the 25-year-old Briton would love now, as he prepares to battle for the Formula One title he lost last year to compatriot and new McLaren team mate Jenson Button, is a cinematic licence to kill.
“When I was younger I did think of myself being the first black James Bond … I think it would be pretty cool,” he told Reuters in an interview ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
“Just to play a part in a James Bond (film) would be wicked. Really wicked,” he added. “I guess that would be a dream for me one day to play a part, even if it’s just a five second guy in the background.”
Hamilton was speaking after the launch, on a deserted building site on the fringes of Manama, of a new alternate reality game by personal sponsor Reebok.
The online launch, with the idol of millions standing in front of a giant screen several stories high with just a production crew and a handful of curious bystanders in attendance, created a surreal effect that added to the clandestine feel.
The game is scheduled to last until October, with an evolving storyline and Hamilton playing a secret agent, with Bond-like running and jumping stunts.
“Clearly I would never be breaking into anyone else’s house but it’s kind of cool to pretend I was doing it and in the best way you possibly could,” he said.
Secret Life
Hamilton, who is dating pop singer Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, already has one secret life of his own and intends to keep it that way.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? yeah, well. It’s a secret,” he said when asked about it.
“I work as hard as I can to make sure when I get to the race that I’m in that zone for the weekend. As soon as I leave, I switch off and go into a different place.”
In his case, home in Switzerland or to his girlfriend in Los Angeles.
“I am always on my computer…getting into different worlds,” he added. “When I am at home I go online with my brother, who is back in the UK, and we race each other and its like we are there in the same place.
“I am online racing all these computer games, I could never put my name on it because kids around the world would beat me and my brother beats me quite often. So I would never like anyone to know it’s actually me.”
Courtesy of Stuff.co.nz
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think he should just stick to his day job?
Marion Jones signs for WNBA team
Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has signed for Women’s National Basketball Association franchise the Tulsa Shock.
The 34 year-old won three Olympic titles in 2000 but was later stripped of her medals after admitting she used performance-enhancing drugs.
She announced last autumn that she planned to join the WNBA and has trained with several teams. She was previously drafted by Phoenix Mercury in 2003, but never made an appearance.
Franchise president Steve Swetoha insists Jones deserves a shot at redemption, and said: “She made some ill-advised decisions in the past, but everyone deserves a second chance to excel at something they love.
“The city of Tulsa gave a struggling franchise from Detroit a second chance, and I’m confident it will do the same for Marion. We couldn’t be happier to have her on board.”
Jones added: “I may not be your typical rookie in this league, but I’ll still bring that rookie energy. I’m looking forward to competing against the best female athletes in the world.”
With thanks to the telegraph.co.uk
Loading ...
