Rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of international sport is becoming the norm for Wayde van Niekerk as he joins the ranks of the top global athletes.
Van Niekerk’s incredible world-record run at last year's Rio Olympic Games earned him a nomination for this year’s 2017 Laureus World Sports Awards, adding to his status as one of the hottest properties in the sporting world.
Shortlisted for the Laureus Sport Breakthrough of the Year Award, Van Niekerk will go up against a host of top-class competition, including three teams, on Tuesday night. He will go up against Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg, Ethiopian world-record breaker Almaz Ayana, English Premier League champions Leicester City, European Championship quarter-finalists Iceland and Olympic Rugby Sevens gold medallists Fiji.
“I can go through the line-up and tell you how every sports person and sports group have inspired me,” Van Niekerk told Laureus.
“I have massive respect for them all, so I’ll probably be very star struck at the Laureus Awards.”
Van Niekerk follows in the footsteps of Oscar Pistorius (2008 and 2012), and Louis Oosthuizen to be nominated for this award.
Six South Africans have won awards in various categories including the victorious Springboks from the 2007 Rugby World Cup for team of the year, and, Pistorius, Natalie du Toit and Ernst van Dyk for Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year.
Adventurer Mike Horn and Schalk Burger earned gongs for Action Sportsperson of the Year and Comeback of the Year, respectively.
“It’s just been a blessing to myself and yet another milestone or achievement I can tick off, knowing that I have been nominated for such a massive award,” Van Niekerk said.
“It’s exciting because I get to see all the other nominees in all the other categories. It’s been a massive surprise and a great great honour just to be nominated.”
Cold and overcast conditions greeted Laureus guests to the Principality of Monaco ahead of the Oscars of sport . Rosberg was one of the first major nominees to speak to the media where questions about his retirement dominated the press conference.
The German initially admitted he did not know who his competition was in the Laureus Sport Breakthrough of the Year Award category but back peddling on his answer.
When asked who he thought his biggest rival would be, Rosberg rather diplomatically said it was too difficult to say.
Should Van Niekerk get the nod it would add to his growing list of accolades following on his award as Best Male Athlete of the 2016 Rio Games by the Association of International Olympic Committees.
Van Niekerk lost to Jamaican sprinting icon Usain Bolt in the male IAAF World Athlete of the Year at the end of last year.
Bolt leads the nominations for the prestigious Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, which includes 5000m and 10000m Olympic champion Mo Farah, tennis gold medal winner Andy Murray, Portuguese football player Christiano Ronaldo and basketball duo Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
Americans Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Allyson Felix, German tennis ace Angelique Kerber, Jamaican sprint sensation Elaine Thompson and British cyclist Laura Kenny make up the nominations in the women’s category.