Lauwers Wins Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award
Wheelchair sailor Vinny Lauwers from Australia was named World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the Laureus World Sports Awards held on 22 May in Monaco.
The awards, styled as the Oscars of the sporting world, celebrate sporting excellence across all disciplines and continents. The televised awards ceremony was shown in more than 150 countries and featured many well-known personalities from the fields of sport and entertainment, including Edwin Moses, Boris Becker, and entertainer and event host Gregory Hines.
The other nominees for the disability category were: track athlete Shea Cowart (United States), tennis player David Hall (Australia), swimmer Béatrice Hess (France) and equestrian athlete Lee Pearson (Britain). At last year’s inaugural Laureus Awards founded by DaimlerChrysler and Richemont, Australian wheelchair athlete Louise Sauvage was named Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
Lauwers became the first sailor with a disability to sail solo around the world. His non-stop and unassisted voyage saw him contending with major rigging and steering problems along the way. Through this effort, he raised A$40,000 to help enhance the quality of life for both disadvantaged children and children with a disability. Lauwers acquired his disability after a motorcycle accident in 1990. He then had to re-learn his sailing skills over a seven-year period while building his own yacht in a wheelchair, despite breaking his back for the second time. He has undertaken several ocean voyages, including two Sydney-Hobart races. As skipper, he completed the 1999 Osaka Cup, a two-handed race from Australia to Japan.
Said Lauwers after the ceremony: “Over the seven and a half months I spent sailing around the world, I never once in my wildest dreams thought that my vision would come to fruition with such a great award. It’s a great honor and I shall really treasure it as one of my greatest achievements.”
In the other Laureus Award categories, Australian runner Cathy Freeman, who won the Sydney Olympic gold medal in the 400m and was unbeaten in that event throughout 2000, was voted World Sportswoman of the Year. The World Sportsman of the Year Award went to American golfer Tiger Woods for the second time in a row. Woods won three of last year’s four major golfing events. Kenyan running legend Kip Keino received the Sport for Good Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to society through sport over the years.
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