Roger Federer wins the prestigious Laureus award as World Sportsmen of the Year at the annual Laureus award ceremony on 27 February 2018 in Monte Carlo.
This celebration of excellence in sports is held since 2000 and takes place every year in a different location. In 2018 the festive celebration took place in Monte Carlo, the capital city of Monaco, which is the second smallest country in the world.
The Laureus award is the most prestigious sports award in the world. Twelve awards are handed to the most outstanding, most popular and most inspiring athletes, teams and events.
This year, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer scooped two awards - one for Sportsman of the Year and one for Comeback of the Year. He now has six Laureus awards and is the most decorated Laureus sportsman of all times.
US tennis player Serena Williams won this year's Sportswoman of the Year award. Williams now has three Laureus in her collection of sporting awards and is the sportswoman who was most often shortlisted for the award - nine times.
A 'Laureus Sport for Good Award' is handed annually to an organisation that helps young people to find the right path through sports and training programmes. This year the trophy was awarded to Active Communities Network, a sports development charity that uses sport as upliftment for young people in the UK, in Ireland and in South Africa.
"Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people" (Nelson Mandela, guest of honour at the first Laureus award ceremony in 2000).
Swiss wheelchair athlete Marcel Hug, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet' won Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. The Paralympian athlete won two gold medals in the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil and is one of the most consistent marathon winners in the world.
The Laureus award
The Laureus statuette depicts a sportsman. A statuette is a little statue or figure. The Laureus statuettes are 30cm high/11 inches and weigh 2.5kg/5.5 pounds. Each figure contains 670g of solid silver with a 650g gold finish base (roughly one pound and a half each). Laureus is the Latin word for laurel – the universal symbol for victory.
source: Laureus
image: Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images for Laureus