The ninth annual Laureus World Sports Awards was held in St Petersburg, Russia, on February 18, 2008. The Awards Ceremony, televised to a worldwide TV audience, was staged at The Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall.
The Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony brings together sporting celebrities past and present to honour the great achievements of the sports stars of today and is also a platform to showcase the work of the Laureus Sport Foundation, an humanitarian programme that operates on every continent and has improved the lives of over 150,000 young people since its inception.
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer was named Laureus Sportsman of the Year for the fourth straight time at the 2008 Awards ceremony after another superb year, which saw him once again win three Grand Slam in the season.
Tennis was the biggest winner in Saint Petersburg as Belgium’s Justine Henin won the Sportswoman of the Year award and Holland’s Esther Vergeer, the greatest wheelchair tennis star of all-time, took away the Laureus Disability trophy for the second time.
Two of the biggest names in British sport also have their hands on Laureus as Lewis Hamilton won the Breakthrough of the Year award after his remarkable debut season in Formula One, while long distance runner Paula Radcliffe had the Comeback of the Year award.
