SALLY’S COURAGE
GOLD Coast champion Sally Pearson has been nominated for a prestigious Laureus World Sport Award following her emotional gold medal win at the world championships.
Pearson is one of two Australians included in any of the eight categories, with surfing world champion Tyler Wright also acknowledged for her second world title last year.
Pearson, nominated for the Comeback of the Year award, completed one of the most remarkable fightbacks in Australian sporting history by winning the 100m hurdles in London.
After claiming Olympic gold at the London Olympics in 2012, Pearson suffered an endless run of injuries over a three-year period that threatened to end her sporting career.
She made a triumphant return to win her second title on the same track in August last year, and stake her claim as the nation’s best-ever track athlete alongside Cathy Freeman.
Pearson is in a hotly contested category that includes Brazilian football team Chapecoense following their tragic plane crash, and Roger Federer’s successful return from a knee injury.
FC Barcelona, who fought back from 4-0 to score a remarkable
6-5 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi and men’s 100m world champion Justin Gatlin are also short listed.
Freeman congratulated Pearson for her award nomination.
“For me, Sally is one of the bravest athletes in the world.
“Overcoming long-term injuries is a mental and physical nightmare for a fulltime athlete,” Freeman said.
Wright gains her second straight nomination in an Action Sportsperson of the Year field that also boasts men’s surfing champion JJ Florence, skateboarder Nyjah Huston and French sailor Armel Le Cleac’h.