The greatest swimmer in history will now retire without winning one of the world’s biggest sporting honors, the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. For the third time in his career, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been honored as the world’s top male athlete, adding this title to wins in 2009 and 2010. Bolt won three gold medals in London, in the 100m dash, the 200m dash, and the 4×100 meter relay.
Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in any sport, wasn’t totally snubbed this year, like he was after his eight gold medal performance at the Beijing Olympics. This year, Phelps was the recipient of a special honor – the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award – in recognition of his 22 Olympic medals.
There was one swimmer who came home with a big award. Daniel Dias, a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer who won 6 gold medals in London, was honored as the Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year. This is the second time he has received the honor, with the last time coming just after his 2008 Paralympic run.
A swimmer has never won the honor of Sportsman or Sportswoman of the Year, though they’ve taken several of the lesser awards. Of the current 47 voting members on the World Sports Academy, who are all former athletes, are only two swimmers: Mark Spitz and Dawn Fraser. That’s as compared to 9 members who participated in athletics (track & field), which is the sport of both winners.
Among other swimming nominees were Missy Franklin for women’s World Sportswoman of the Year; and China’s Ye Shiwen and France’s Yannick Agnel for World Breakthrough of the Year.
All Winners Include:
- Sportsman of the Year – Usain Bolt – Olympic 100m, 200m, 4x100m Champion (Jamaica)
- Sportswoman of the Year – Jessica Ennis – Olympic Heptathlon Champion (Great Britain)
- Comeback of the Year – Felix Sanchez – Olympic 400m Hurdles Champion (Dominican Republic)
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Sebastien Coe, Chairman of Olympic Organising Committee (Great Britain)
- World Breakthrough of the Year – Andy Murray – 2012 U.S. Open and Olympic Champion (Great Britain)
- World Action Sportsperson of the Year – Felix Baumgartner – Set record for parachute jump from the highest altitude (Austrian)
- World Team of the Year: European Ryder Cup Team
Surely to even be considered close to achieving what Phelps has achieved, Bolt also needs to be winning (and setting world records) in the long jump, the triple jump, and the 110m hurdles. All are fast sprint events which would compliment his existing events (same energy systems, etc), and are a hell of a lot easier to master than the range of events Phelps has done.
For track and field people to moan about the unfairness of swimmers having more opportunities is an utter fallacy until they pull out their collective finger and do more of the events that *are* available to them.
Just Saying 😉
not quite fair to ask him to win the hurdles because no hurdler in recent times has won the 100m or 200m
but otherwise good points. bolt refuses to train the 400 (even though he was good at it when he was young) because the intensity of training is too high, and doesn’t want to do the long jump even though mike poweel (current long jump WR holder since ’91) said he could break the record
what sets Phelps apart is not that he has more medals, but that he was not afraid to do events he might not win, and expanded his schedule as much as he could
In my opinion Michael Phelps deserves to win the sportsman if the year award because he is the most decorated Olympic athlete ever and he won more medals than Bolt not to take anything away from Bolt.
this isn’t really the snub this year, because phelps really didn’t do anything that incredible, at least for his standards, while bolt repeated as champs, which no one has done before (yes I know Phelps got 22 but really he was bound to get 18+. It wasn’t even debatable)
but really how could they NOT give 8 gold medals, 7 world record, 10 Olympic Records an award. total BS not to give the most prolific Olympic performance ever an award, which might be the most prolific Olympic performance ever
“Phelps really didn’t do anything that incredible.”
Nothing really to say to that but lol.
it’s very impressive for swimming, but in the larger context it would not be news
if in 2020 someone wins 2 individual golds and 6 medals total it would be news in swimming but not really to everyone because in the grand scheme of all sports it would not be the most notable performance, most likely
just because someone has the best performance in swimming doesn’t mean that they are immediately the best of the entire year
Love Michael Phelps. Love Usain Bolt.
Who cares about the Lazarus awards?
Phelps is well and truly a worthy recipient regardless of the difference between opportunity to participate in and win gold medals. On a level playing field however, why didn’t Jacqueline Freney win Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year with 8 gold medals in the swimming at the Paralympics?
Both won 6 individual golds.. the 2 golds as a team I think should not count..
But Dias holds 10 Individual WR.. some of them broken at 2012.. ( 50, 100 and 200 free S5, 50 100 Back S5, 50 100 Fly S5, 50 100 Breast SB4 and 200 IM SM5) that is a quite dominant..
Phelps ain’t nobody, stop hating on bolt, Phelps ain’t even the best at his sport, the only one that can defeat bolt is bolt. All he does is swim that don’t really count for much.Big up to bolt
Methinks you’re on the wrong website…
Not saying Bolt doesn’t deserve the reward, but we may never see an athlete like Phelps again. 22 Olympic medals, 18 of which are gold has to count for something!
and I have said this before – but Bolt, as a person, is one arrogant individual who is self-infatuated. one could only imagine how Phelps would be perceived if he had the same demeanor.
The 22 OG medals would be more fitting for a lifetime achievement..
I’m not surprised at all they didn’t give Phelps the main award. Their credibility is questionable, to say the least. I’m surprised he went there and accepted that joke of an award they had made up just to give him something. His career is brilliant, he doesn’t need Laureus award to prove it.