With less than two weeks to go before the event, the Laureus Academy has lifted a corner of the veil on the cast of its annual awards evening, to be held on Monday 8 May in Paris. It promises to be a golden cast. Five members of the Academy, two of whom also belong to the IOC, have confirmed their presence: Sebastian Coe, Edwin Moses, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Nawal El Moutawakel, and Chris Hoy. On the athletes’ side, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is expected to be in the French capital, as is young Brazilian Rayssa Leal, silver medallist in skateboarding at the Tokyo 2020 Games at just 14 years of age. Football will be represented by a respectable gallery of big names, including Luis Figo and Carles Puyol, Fabio Capello, and Frenchmen Patrice Evra and Claude Makélélé. Surfer Justine Dupont is also confirmed. Finally, five of the six nominees for the Disabled Athlete of the Year award will be present for the Laureus Awards evening: Catherine Debrunner, Declan Farmer, Cameron Leslie, Oksana Masters and Jesper Saltvik Pedersen.
