U.S. Paralympian Tatyana McFadden has won the 2015 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award at a glittering ceremony in Shanghai, China, for her achievements in 2014 in both track and field and cross-country skiing.
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In her first full season in snow sports, McFadden won silver in the 1-kilometer cross-country sprint at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and 32 days later won the London Marathon.
With further wins in Boston, Chicago and New York, she repeated her feat of 2013, when she became the first athlete ever to win all four major world marathons in a calendar year.
On the track she also set new world records over 1,500-meter and 5,000 T54 to cap a memorable year.
As she is preparing to compete in the Boston marathon next Sunday, McFadden was not in Shanghai to collect her award, leaving her mom to pick-up the accolade on her behalf instead.
“Thanks to my family for being the change in my world and for getting me involved with sports,” McFadden said on Facebook. “Thank you to my mom for being at the Laureus Sports Awards and accepting the award on my behalf. I unfortunately could not make it there. It is an incredible honour to have won the Laureus Sports Person the Year with a Disability. Thank you thank you Laureus!!! This award is dedicated to my family who have always believed in my crazy dreams.”
To win the award, McFadden beat five other finalists, including Russian Nordic skier Roman Petushkov and German alpine skier Anna Schaffelhuber, who between then won 11 gold medals at Sochi 2014. Great Britain’s para-cyclist Sarah Storey, Hong Kong’s boccia world champion Yuk Wing Leung and Canada’s para-cycling world champion Shelly Gauthier were also nominated.
The globally televised Laureus World Sports Awards was hosted by British film and TV actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Among the presenters were Hollywood legend Bill Murray, star of iconic films such as Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and Hyde Park on Hudson, Henry Cavill, who played Superman in the film Man of Steel, multi award-winning Korean actress Ha Ji-won, and actress and model Karolína Kurkova.
