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Mick Fanning, Greg Long, Stephanie Gilmore and Antoine Albeau are nominated for the 2010 Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year.
There are only surfers and windsurfers nominated for this category (no kitesurfers or bodyboarders) and none makes it to the World Sportsman/Sportswoman of the Year category.
In the past three Laureus editions, nine-time surfing world champion Kelly Slater took home two Action Sportsperson of the Year trophies.
The 2010 nominees are:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) Athletics - first 5,000 & 10,000m double in World Championships Usain Bolt (Jamaica) Athletics - won 100m, 200m & 4x100m relay World Championship gold medals Alberto Contador (Spain) Cycling - won his second Tour de France in three years Roger Federer (Switzerland) Tennis - broke Pete Sampras record for most Grand Slam singles titles won Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football - FIFA World Player of the Year, a star in Barcelona's brilliant year Valentino Rossi (Italy) Motor Cycling - won his seventh senior MotoGP world title
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
Shelly-Ann Fraser (Jamaica) Athletics - added World Championship 100 metres gold to Olympic gold Federica Pellegrini (Italy) Swimming - broke the four minute barrier in 400m freestyle Sanya Richards (US) Athletics - won first individual 400m gold medal in a global championship Britta Steffen (Germany) Swimming - won World Championship 50m & 100m gold in world record times Lindsey Vonn (US) Skiing - won World Cup for second year and two gold medals at World Championships Serena Williams (US) Tennis - won Australian Open and Wimbledon and regained world No 1 ranking
Laureus World Team of the Year
FC Barcelona (Spain) Football - won Champions League, Spanish League and Spanish Cup in 2008/09 Brawn Formula One Team (UK) - won Drivers and Constructors World Championships in debut year Germany Women's Football Team - won their fifth straight European Championship Los Angeles Lakers (US) Basketball - won 15th NBA title in their record 30th play-off appearance New York Yankees (US) Baseball - won their 27th - and record - World Series South Africa Rugby Team - international rugby team of the year, won Lions and Tri-Nations series
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year
Jenson Button (UK) Motor Racing - won Formula One World Championship after 169 Grand Prix Mark Cavendish (UK) Cycling - won six stages of the Tour de France, a record for a British cyclist Tom Daley (UK) Diving - won 10m platform gold medal in World Championship, at age 15 Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) Tennis - beat Roger Federer in final to win US Open, at age 21 Ji Yai Shin (South Korea) Golf - rookie of the year on the US LPGA Tour, winning three events VFL Wolfsburg (Germany) Football - small club from Lower Saxony, won their first Bundesliga title
Laureus World Comeback of the Year
Lance Armstrong (US) Cycling - returned to Tour de France at 37 after four year gap, finished third Kim Clijsters (Belgium) Tennis - won US Open in her third tournament back after two year absence Jessica Ennis (UK) Athletics - won World Championship heptathlon after missing Olympics with injury Brett Favre (US) American Football - came out of retirement and created record for consecutive starts Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) Athletics - won World Championship high jump after disappointment at Olympics Tom Watson (US) Golf - came within a putt of winning the British Open at age 59
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
Justin Eveson (Australia) Wheelchair Basketball - winner of every tournament in which he took part Kurt Fearnley (Australia) Wheelchair Racing - won all five marathons in which he competed in 2009 Gizen Girismen (Turkey) Para-Archery - No 1 archer in the world in her category since 2007 Shingo Kunieda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis - unbeaten in 77 matches dating back to 2007 Michael Teuber (Germany) Cycling - won three gold and one silver medal in World Championships Natalie du Toit (S.Africa) Swimming - continued to dominate able-bodied and disabled events in 2009
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year
Antoine Albeau (France) Windsurfing - won the 2009 PWA Slalom World Championship Chris Cole (US) Skateboarding - won the Dew Cup and was named Skater of the Year Mick Fanning (Australia) Surfing - won his second World Surfing Championship in three years Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) Surfing - won her third straight World Surfing Championship, at just 21 Greg Long (US) Surfing - won big wave event at Waimea Bay, Hawaii, in front of 50,000 spectators Danny MacAskill (UK) Trials Bikes - spectacular stunt video seen by 350,000 on You Tube in 40 hours
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