Three-time 800m world champion Caster Semenya has been nominated for Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.
Nominees in eight Laureus categories were announced today and the winners will be announced at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco on February 27.
In the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year category Semenya faces stiff competition from Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza and an all-American quartet of Australian Open champion Serena Williams, 16-time world athletics championship medalist Allyson Felix, 19-year-old swimming sensation Katie Ledecky, Overall World Cup champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
Tennis superstar Roger Federer’s impressive return to form after a knee injury, which saw him win his fifth Australian Open and eighth Wimbledon titles, sees him nominated in both the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year categories.
Federer, who is currently a four-time Award winner could become the most decorated Laureus Award winner at the 2018 ceremony in Monaco on February 27.
The football world also features heavily, with Cristiano Ronaldo up for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Real Madrid nominated for Laureus World Team of the Year, Kylian Mbappé in contention for Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year.
Following FC Barcelona's Champions League 6-1 comeback against Paris St Germain, and Brazilian football club Chapecoense, who made a remarkable return to competition after being involved in a tragic plane crash, have been nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Joining Federer and Ronaldo in what is sure to be a hotly contested Laureus World Sportsman of the Year category is athletics world championships 10 000m gold and 5000m silver medal-winning athlete Mo Farah, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, four-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and French and US Open champion Rafael Nadal.
In the Laureus Best Sporting Moment of the Year category, five emotional and heartwarming Moments, which look beyond the scoreboard and highlight the true value of sport have been selected from five monthly global online polls.
Sports fans around the world voted for The Iowa Hawkeyes and their fans’ heart-warming ‘Kinnick Wave’, six-year-old football fan Bradley Lowery and the special bond he formed with best friend, England striker Jermain Defoe; Kimi Räikkönen and his 6-year-old fan Thomas Danel, Brazilian football team Chapecoense and inspirational 18-year-old motor racing driver Billy Monger.