Laureus World Sports Awards: Marcel Hug, Oksana Masters in hunt for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

Some of the world’s best athletes will vie for this year’s Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award. The six contenders were nominated after a ballot by the world’s sports media.

The Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award is handed to the person who best demonstrates excellent athletic achievement and strong leadership qualities in a sport in the Paralympic programme. As Laureus’ India partners, Firstpost brings you the nominees for the Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award (listed in alphabetical order)

And the Nominees for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability are… #Laureus18 pic.twitter.com/asDlkpMLIg

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) January 16, 2018

Marcel Hug (Athletics)

The outstanding Swiss wheelchair racer had an impressive year, winning world titles over 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m in the highly competitive T54 class at the World Para Championships in London. He was also in excellent form over the longer distances, winning ‘World Marathon Majors’ races in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York and Tokyo.

Yui Kamiji (Wheelchair Tennis)

Won 14 singles events out of the 18 she competed in, including three Grand Slams – Australian, French and US. She had a 54-4 winning record in singles and only twice failed to reach the final of a tournament she played in. She also won eight doubles titles in 2017, including Wimbledon and the French Open, and regained the world No 1 ranking.

Oksana Masters (Cross-country Skiing)

Competed in rowing at the London 2012 Olympics and cycling at Rio 2016, but switched to skiing in 2017, winning four World Championship gold medals and a bronze in women’s cross-country and biathlon. Also won 10 gold, three silver and a bronze in a successful World Cup season. She finished with two gold medals at the World Cup final to take No.1 world ranking.

Bibian Mentel-Spee (Snowboarding)

After leading the campaign to have snowboarding included in the Sochi 2014 Paralympics, she won two world titles in 2017 having spent most of 2016 out of action as she received treatment for lung cancer. She also runs the Mentelity Foundation, which encourages children with impairments to take part in wakeboarding, snowboarding and skateboarding.

Jetze Plat (Triathlon and Cycling)

At the UCI Para Cycling World Championships in South Africa, he won gold in the individual road race and time trial events. 12 days later he took gold at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, then won the handcycle division of the Berlin Marathon. In October he rounded off an amazing year, winning the Para triathlete category of the Ironman World Championships in a record time.

Markus Rehm (Athletics)

Won the long jump T44 at the World Para Championships. His leap of 8.00m was more than one metre clear of the silver medallist. He also took gold in the 4x100m T42-46 relay. At home he supports disabled children with joint training sessions as a part of the German ‘Youngsters training for the Paralympics’ programme.