Marcel Hug has been awarded the Sportsperson with a Disability award for 2018 at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Award ceremony held in Monaco. It is no surprise that the para athlete won with all of his sporting achievements.
Marcel Hug was awarded the 2018 Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability on February 17 at the Laureus awards ceremony. The annual event celebrates top sports men and women from across the globe. The 32-year old Paralympian athlete from Switzerland won one of the 12 awards presented at the event.
The Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability is given to a para athlete who best demonstrates excellent athletic achievements and strong leadership qualities. Hug was among five other outstanding Para athletes nominated for the honour.
Nicknamed ‘silver bullet’, Hug has stunned in his T54 wheelchair racing career. He has won seven Paralympic gold medals, set four world records and dominated in marathons. The Paralympian made a splash from an early age winning two bronze medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
He was named the 2004 Newcomer of the Year Credit Suisse Sports Award. In 2006, Hug competed at the IPC Athletics World Championship and won his first international gold medal in the men’s 10 000 m T54 wheelchair race. During a race meet in Switzerland in June of 2010, Hug set four new world records in T54 wheelchair race: the 800 m (1:31.12); 1 500 m (2:54.51); 5 000 m (9:53.05); and 10 000 m (19:50.04).
By 2011, Hug would claim his second international gold medal at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship. He once again dominated in the 10 000 m wheelchair race. In the same year, Hug won his first major city marathon at the 2011 Berlin Marathon – a title Hug would retain the following year.
The athlete finally found his rhythm and went on to win five gold medals at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. He also took the titled at his fourth New York Marathon and the London Marathon.
Hug would win his first Boston Marathon title in 2015 and his second in 2016. He also won his second London Marathon in 2016. Hug won his first Paralympic gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
This year, Hug promises to deliver. Hug took first place at the first marathon of the year at the Tokyo Marathon. With the next Abbott World Marathon Majors – a collection of the six largest and most renowned marathons – coming up in April, we can only wish Hug good luck with his race at the Boston marathon.
Find more about the other sports people of the year on the Laureus World Sports Award website here: https://awards.laureus.com/winners/
