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 Sunday in a virtual ceremony from Seville.
Dutchman Verstappen, who won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix earlier 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.