Abu Dhabi: Motorsport maestro Lewis Hamilton is ‘very grateful and proud’ to be one of the six nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
Also nominated are Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, world golf No.1 Rory McIlory, Spain’s World MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Renaud Lavillenie, the French pole vaulter who broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old world record.
The winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced in Shanghai, China, on April 15.
Hamilton, who won the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award in 2008, told laureus.com: “I’ve never won the big award at Laureus and obviously seen the greats that have. So, you know, I’d be massively privileged if I was among those. Knowing how prestigious the Laureus award is, I feel very, very grateful and proud to be among the great athletes that have been nominated.”
The two-time Formula One world champion added: “It’s all the best from whatever their craft is. Rory’s done an amazing job. Ronaldo, jeez, what a great player he is, Djokovic, I mean he’s killed everything. It’s been great to watch him come up and achieve what he has done.
“They’re all different sports and they all have different approaches and different strengths and weaknesses and, yes, I could only have ever dreamed at this period of time in my life to be up among them.”
