Semenya is up for honours in the World Sportswoman of the Year category.
She is up against Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and an all-American quartet of Australian Open champion Serena Williams, 16-time world athletics championship medallist Allyson Felix, 19-year-old swimming sensation Katie Ledecky, and overall World Cup champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
An impressive collection of the greatest men, women and teams in sport have been nominated, following a ballot by the world’s sports media.
Tennis superstar Roger Federer’s impressive return to form after a knee injury, which saw him win his fifth Australian Open and eighth Wimbledon titles, sees him nominated in both the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year categories.
Federer, who is currently a four-time award winner, could become the most decorated Laureus award winner at this year's ceremony.
The football world also features heavily, with Cristiano Ronaldo up for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Real Madrid nominated for Laureus World Team of the Year, Kylian Mbappé in contention for World Breakthrough of the Year and Barcelona and Chapecoense nominated for the World Comeback of the Year Award.
Joining Federer and Ronaldo in what is sure to be a hotly contested World Sportsman of the Year category is athletics world championships 10000m gold and 5000m silver medal-winning athlete Mo Farah, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, four-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and French and US Open champion Rafael Nadal.
An array of sports compile the six nominees in the Laureus World Team of the Year category; tennis’ France Davis Cup team, NBA champions Golden State Warriors, Formula One World champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Super Bowl champions New England Patriots, sailing’s New Zealand America’s Cup Team and Champions League winners Real Madrid.
After a stellar year in the ring in which he unified the WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles, boxer Anthony Joshua is nominated in the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year category.
Nominated alongside Joshua are French football star Mbappé, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, Greek basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo and American swimming star Caeleb Dressel. - African News Agency (ANA)