Verstappen, Thompson-Herah win Laureus awards
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and triple Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah won the Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards on Sunday in a virtual ceremony in Seville.
The awards are organised by the Laureus Sports Foundation and the 2021 winners were selected by a 71-member panel.
Verstappen, who won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix earlier on Sunday, follows Rafael Nadal who won the men's award last year and his great rival Lewis Hamilton, who shared the men's prize with Lionel Messi in 2020.
Thompson-Herah is not the first Jamaican sprinter to win an award.
"I know Usain (Bolt) has won Laureus Awards before, so to bring this trophy back home to the Caribbean, also in Jamaica, is very special," she said.
In a sign of how ephemeral sporting achievements can be, the Italian men's football team, who followed winning the Euros last year with missing the World Cup this spring, were voted the 'Team of the Year', for a second time.
British tennis starlet Emma Raducanu, who has struggled for consistency since winning the US Open last year, received the 'Breakthrough of the Year' award.
NFL quarterback Tom Brady, a 44-year-old seven-time winner Super Bowl winner who retired then unretired after last season, received a 'Lifetime Achievement' award.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who broke Gerd Mueller's Bundesliga scoring record, was given an 'Exceptional Achievement' award.
Seven-time elite motorbike champion Valentino Rossi won the 'Sporting Icon' award, after retiring in November at the end of a 25-year career.
"This Award was founded in the year 2000 when Nelson Mandela said 'sport has the power to change the world' and I totally agree with that," said Brady.
"Pele was voted for
