Two Americans who made a name for themselves in the 2016 Rio Olympics and brought home glory are Usain Bolt and Simone Biles. Both of them dominated their respective disciplines and have been rewarded with the Laureus Awards in Monaco – this award is also known as the 'Oscars of Sport'.
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt hails from Jamaica and won three gold medals in the 2016 Rio Olympics. These were in the 100 meters, the 200-meters and the 4X100 m relay – he won the three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Olympics and was named Sportsman of the Year due to which he went home with four Laureus World Sport award.
Such a feat of winning four Laureus awards has been achieved by only three others before Usain Bolt and they are Roger Federer and Serena Williams who are both tennis players and surfer Kelly Slater.
Bolt intends to call it a day and retire after the World Athletics Championships in August. He has expressed satisfaction at what he has been able to do for sports.
Simone Biles
American teenager Simone Biles is a gymnast par excellence and became the first woman to win four gymnastics golds in a single Olympic Games. She has been selected for the Laureus award in the category of Sportswoman of the Year.
Simone Biles is a 19-year-old and won gold in the individual all-around, vault and floor events.
She has decided to take it easy for a year after the success in the 2016 Rio Olympics and will chalk up her plans to begin training for the forthcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Like any sportswoman, she would like to leave her mark on Tokyo too.
Laureus World Sports Awards
It is the dream of every sportsman to earn recognition and bring glory to not only himself but also to his country of origin.
That is what Laureus awards does. It honors individuals from the world of sports who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields and have left their marks by virtue of their greatest sporting achievements throughout the year.
This award is an annual event that was constituted in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo.