France’s Marie Bochet wins Laureus Award

Marie Bochet, just 19 at the time of the World Championships, won gold in the women’s standing class in the downhill, super-G, super-combined, slalom and giant slalom events, helping France top the medals table.

French skiing sensation Marie Bochet won the award for Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability on Wednesday (26 March) for being victorious in all five of her events at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in La Molina, Spain.

Bochet, just 19 at the time of the Championships, won gold in the women’s standing class in the downhill, super-G, super-combined, slalom and giant slalom events, helping France top the medals table.

She beat five other finalists for the award, including Swiss wheelchair racer Marcel Hug, American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden, New Zealand swimmer Sophie Pascoe, Norwegian swimmer Sarah Louise Rung and Ukrainian swimmer Olga Sviderska.

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, the youngest four-time Formula One world champion in history at 26, was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, US swimmer Missy Franklin, at 18, became the youngest ever winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award, while Spain’s Marc Marquez received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award, after winning the World MotoGP Championship at just 20 years and 266 days.

There was double delight for both Germany and Spain when the Awards were announced. Bayern Munich joined Vettel as winners, taking the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, while tennis maestro Rafael Nadal received the Laureus Comeback Award to celebrate, with Marquez, a wonderful night for Spanish sport.

The Laureus World Sports Awards are the one of the top honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised EUR 60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience. German actor Daniel Bruhl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy present were: Giacomo Agostini, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Deng Yaping, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tony Hawk, Michael Johnson, Franz Klammer, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Ilie Nastase, Alexey Nemov, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Steve Waugh.

The Laureus World Sports Awards were aired live in over 100 countries and made available to more than one billion viewers, in addition to a traditional post-produced distribution to 180 countries and territories worldwide.