Brazil will be represented in this year’s edition of Laureus Award, Oscar Sportsfor every Italo Ferreira. Olympic champion surfer was nominated in this category Action Athlete of the Year 2021 He will compete for this honor with five other athletes who excelled at the Tokyo Olympics.
This is Italo’s second nomination for the prestigious award. In 2020, she competed in the same category, and the winner was North American figure skater Chloe Kim. Raisa Leal, known as Fadinha, also competed two years ago. This time he was left out of the roster, despite having a great season, winning a silver medal at the Olympics.
Italo, who is the first Olympic champion in surfing history, will be his main rival, Carissa Moore of North America, who also won gold in surfing at the Olympics. After topping the podium at the Olympic Games, he won his fifth world title.
2021 Action Athlete of the Year nominees
- Italo Ferreira (Brazil | Surfing): Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Carissa Moore (USA | Surfing): Gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Yuto Horigumi (Japan | Skating): Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Momiji Nishiya (Japan | Skating): Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Alberto Ginés (Spain | Climbing): Tokyo Olympics gold.
- Bethany Shriver (England | Cycling): Gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Nominees in each category were selected through voting by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a high-level global sports judging panel, made up of 71 of the greatest sporting legends in history. In the Esporte para o Bem award, there was a specialized jury.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in April, with no date yet set, and will again be held virtually, just like last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finalists in all Laureus categories
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Best male athlete: Tom Brady (USA / American Football), Novak Djokovic (Serbia / Tennis), Caeleb Dressel (USA / Swimming), Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya / Athletics), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / Football), Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Motorsport).
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Best female athlete: Ashleigh Barty (Australia/Tennis), Allyson Felix (USA/Track and Field), Katie Ledecky (USA/Swimming), Emma McKeown (Australia/Swimming), Alexia Putellas (Spain/Soccer), and Elaine Thompson Hirah ( Jamaica/Track and Field).
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Best team of the year: Argentina men’s national football team, Barcelona women’s national football team, Chinese Olympic diving team, Italy men’s national football team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas (Germany/Formula 1), Milwaukee Bucks (USA/Basketball).
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Reveal the year: Neeraj Chopra (India/Athletics), Daniil Medvedev (Russia/Tennis), Pedri (Spain/Football), Emma Raducano (UK/Tennis), Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela/Athletics), and Ariarne Titmus (Australia/Swimming) ).
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Return of the year: Simone Biles (USA/Artistic Gymnastics), Skye Brown (UK/Skating), Mark Cavendish (UK/Cycling), Tom Daley (UK/Diving), Marc Marquez (Spain/Motorcycles), Animek Van Vleuten (Netherlands/Cycling). .
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Paralympic athlete: Didi de Groot (Netherlands/wheelchair tennis), Marcel Haug (Switzerland/wheelchair athletics), Shingo Kunieda (Japan/wheelchair tennis), Getz Platt (Netherlands/cycling and paratriathlon), Susana Rodriguez ( Spain/paratriathlon) and Sarah Storey (UK/cycling).
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Action athlete: Italo Ferreira (Brazil/Surfing), Alberto Genis (Spain/Sport Climbing), Yuto Horigumi (Japan/Skateboarding), Carissa Moore (USA/Surfing), Momiji Nishiya (Japan/Skateboarding), and Bethany Shriver (UK/BMX).
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Sports for Good Award:Ich will da rauf! (Germany / Sport Climbing), Jucà Pe Cagnà (Italy / Various Sports), Kick 4 Life (Lesotho / Football), Lost Boyz Inc. (USA/Baseball and Softball), Monkey Magic (Japan/Sport Climbing).
