Messi, Hamilton joint winners of Sportsman of the entire year at Laureus Awards
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi were declared joint winners of the Laureus World Sportsman of the entire year Award in Berlin on Monday, with the voting tied for the very first time in the awards' 20-year history.
Mercedes driver Hamilton won his sixth world championship in 2019, with 11 race wins and 17 podium finishes, while Messi was crowned the world's best player for an archive sixth time when he won the Ballon d'Or.
imone Biles, who became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history when she won her 25th medal this past year, won her third Sportswoman of the Year gong after winning the award in 2017 and 2019.
The South African rugby team, which won the World Cup in Japan last year for the third time in history, were crowned the Team of the Year, beating European soccer champions Liverpool and women's soccer World Cup winners USA.
German NBA star Dirk Nowitzki, who retired this past year after a 21-year career in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to basketball.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Basketball Federation was recognised with the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award following the men's World Cup triumph this past year as the women have won three of the last four EuroBasket titles.
German Formula Three driver Sophia Floersch, who fractured her spine within an aerial crash at the Macau Grand Prix in Nov. 2018 that required an 11-hour surgery to fix, made the Comeback of the Year after getting back to the cockpit this past year.
Laureus Best Sporting Moment award winner, Sachin Tendulkar from India's Men Cricket Team poses with the trophy on the red carpet following the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Berlin on February 17, 2020. Photo: AFP
Former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the best run scorer ever in international cricket, had the support of a cricket-crazy nation to win a fan vote for the award to get the best Sporting Moment from the last two decades.
In his sixth and final one-day international World Cup in 2011, Tendulkar finally got his practical the title as India won on home soil and he was continued his team mates' shoulders for a lap of honour.
List of winners:
Sportsman of the entire year: Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi
Sportswoman of the entire year: Simone Biles
Team of the entire year: South Africa Men's Rugby Team
Breakthrough of the entire year: Egan Bernal
Comeback of the entire year: Sophia Floersch
Sportsperson of the entire year with a Disability: Oksana Masters
Action Sportsperson of the entire year: Chloe Kim
Best Sporting Moment: 'Carried on the shoulders of a nation' - Sachin Tendulkar
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dirk Nowitzki
Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award: Spanish Basketball Federation
Laureus Sport once and for all Award: South Bronx United
