Missy Franklin at the Laureus Awards in Malaysia, yesterday.Missy Franklin at the Laureus Awards in Malaysia, yesterday.

Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel and American swimming sensation Missy Franklin were named Laureus Sportsman and Woman of the Year yesterday in a ceremony filled with tributes to those affected by the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.

Nearly all of the winners at the lavish awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur remarked on flight MH370, which went missing 18 days ago with 239 passengers and crew on board after leaving Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak opened the ceremony, after a moment’s silence, and talked about the strength his nation could take from the achievements of the nominees.

“Sport reflects what is happening in the world,” Razak said.

“But for millions of people sport is also an escape, from hardship, from poverty, from conflict. In the hardest times we look for heroic feats to inspire us. For Malaysia this is one such time.”

Malaysia had stepped in to host the ceremony after Rio de Janeiro was dropped. Local reports said the Brazilian state government owed Laureus money.

Franklin, 18, collected the first award of the night in recognition of her stunning efforts in the pool in 2013 as she became the first woman to win six golds at a single world championships in Barce-lona in August.

The four-times Olympic champion gushed at her surprise in winning the award, presented by compatriot and swimming great Mark Spitz, ahead of five others including American tennis player Serena Williams and Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Vettel enjoyed similar dominance of his sport by winning 13 of 19 Formula One races, including the last nine, in 2013 as he took a fourth consecutive world championship and constructors’ title for Red Bull.

The German, in Kuala Lumpur ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, beat athletes Usain Bolt and Mo Farah, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, American basketball player LeBron James and tennis player Rafa Nadal to the prize.

Spaniard Nadal completed a hat-trick of Laureus awards after he took the Comeback of the Year prize after bouncing back from a seven-month absence to win the 2013 French and US Opens as well as five ATP Masters titles.

Bayern Munich were named World Team of The Year while MotoGP champion Marc Marquez took the Breakthrough of the Year prize after winning the title in his rookie season.

Marie Bochet, the French paralympic skier, was named sports-person of the year with a disability, with Jamie Bestwick named World Action Sportsperson of the Year.

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