Sophie Pascoe nominated for prestigious Laureus Sports Award

New Zealand's Sophie Pascoe with her gold medal after winning the Womens 200m Individual Medley SM10 Swimming at the Rio Paralympics. Photo/www.photosport.

Sophie Pascoe's five medal haul in the pool at the Rio Paralympic Games has earned her a Laureus Sports Award nomination.

The kiwi swimmer is up for sportsperson of the year with a disability after winning three golds and two silvers last year.

The All Blacks won the team award last year but did not make the nominees in the category this year after losing just one test in 2016.

The Mercedes F1 team and three football sides, European Champions Portugal, Champions League winners Real Madrid and Neymar-inspired Olympic gold medal winners Brazil, made the cut along with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and baseball's Chicago Cubs after breaking long-standing droughts.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, basketballers Stephen Curry and LeBron James, British runner Mo Farah, tennis world number one Andy Murray and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for sportsman of the year.

American trio Simone Biles, Allyson Felix and Katie Ledecky are up for the women's award, alongside tennis world number Angelique Kerber, Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson and British cyclist Laura Kenny.

Fiji's men's rugby sevens team have been nominated for the breakthrough of the year award alongside Formula One champion Nico Rosberg and Premier League winners Leicester City.

"You always know in an Olympic year you are going to see a strong group of Nominees and this year has certainly proved that. What delights me is that we have an amazing mix of some of the greatest names in sport who have been performing at the highest level for as long as a decade, combined with some of the most exciting new faces we have seen for many years. It really is going to be an exceptional Laureus Awards next month," said All Blacks great and Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick:

The winners, as voted for by members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be revealed in Monaco on February 14.

Nominees:

Sportsman of the Year
Cristiano Ronaldo (football)
Usain Bolt (athletics)
Mo Farah (athletics)
Andy Murray (tennis)
Stephen Curry (basketball)
LeBron James (basketball)

Sportswoman of the Year
Simone Biles (gymnastics)
Katie Ledecky (swimming)
Allyson Felix (athletics)
Angelique Kerber (tennis)
Elaine Thompson (athletics)
Laura Kenny (cycling)

Comeback of the Year
Michael Phelps (swimming)
Ruth Beitia (athletics)
Juan Martin del Potro (tennis)
Nick Skelton (equestrian)
Fabienne (triathlon)
Aksel Lund Svindal (skiing)

Team of the Year
Mercedes AMG Petronas (motorsport)
Portugal (football)
Real Madrid (football)
Brazil Olympic team (football)
Chicago Cubs (baseball)
Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball)

Breakthrough of the Year
Nico Rosberg (motorsport)
Almaz Ayana
Wayde van Niekerk (athletics)
Leicester City (football)
Iceland (football)
Fiji (rugby sevens)

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award
Sophie Pascoe (swimming)
Ihar Boki (swimming)
Omara Durand (athletics)
Siamand Rahman (weightlifting)
Marcel Hug (athletics)
Beatrice Vio (fencing)

Action Sportsperson of the Year
John John Florence (surfing)
Tyler Wright (surfing)
Chloe Kim (snowboarding)
Pedro Barros (skateboarding)
Rachel Atherton (mountain biking)
Kelly Sildaru (skiing)