Laureus Goes From Strength to Strength

It proved to be quite a night at the Laureus Sports Awards last night staged in central London with stars from stage, music and, of course, sport attending a gala night with the stunning backdrop of Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. 

Whilst actor Clive Owen presented the awards and Bryan Ferry performed the real stars turned out to be from the world of sport, both past and present. As one of the judges on the Laureus Sport panel I spent the day hob-nobbing with the following: Boris Becker, Daley Thompson, Gary Player, Mark Spitz, Sean Fitzpatrick, Emerson Fittpaldi, Kapil Dev, Nadia Comaneci, Tony Hawk, Kip Keino, Ruud Gullit, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and many, many more before the main point of the event, the awards show, took place. 

Novak Djokovic won the Sportsman of the Year ahead of the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt, after winning three out of the four Grand Slam titles on offer in 2011. The wonderful Kenyan athlete, Vivian Cheruiyot took Sportswoman of the Year after claiming the 5,000 and 10,000 metres double at the world athletics championships in Daegu. 

Barcelona took team of the year ahead of the England cricket team and New Zealand All Blacks after claiming both the Champions League and La Liga titles, Oscar Pistorius won Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for becoming the first amputee to win a medal (a silver in the 4 x 400 metres relay) in the non-disabled world championships, and American surfing giant, Kelly Slater, was awarded with Action Sportsperson of the Year for the fourth time. 

British interest centered around Darren Clarke, who won Comeback of the Year for his Open title, at his 20th attempt, at the age of 42, and fellow Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy who took the Breakthrough of the Year award for his US Masters triumph. 

Finally, Sir Bobby Charlton, who was unfortunately ill on the night, won the Lifetime Achievement award whilst the former Brazilian footballer now social justice campaigner, Rai Souza Vieira de Oliveira, was presented with the Laureus Sport for Good Award. 

The night marked the beginning of what promises to be a memorable sporting year in London with the Olympics due to begin in just five months' time.