Nadal, Contador and the Spanish football team score at the AS Sports Prizes

Tennis champion Rafael Nadal, the cyclist Alberto Contador and the Spanish football team were among the winners of the AS Sports Prizes, chosen by readers of Grupo PRISA's daily sports paper over the course of three weeks of voting. Also honored were the swimmer Gemma Mengual, who received the Olympic Prize, and Formula 1 racer Jaime Alguersuari, who has been named as the most Most Promising Newcomer. The awards will be handed out on December 3 at the Palacio de Congresos de Madrid (Paseo de la Castellana) at a  music-filled gala ceremony, with performances by  Melendi, Beatriz Luengo and La Oreja de Van Gogh.

Sports paper AS also singled out the Zaragozan swimmer Teresa Perales for a special mention in recognition of the five medals (three gold, one silver, and another bronze) she won at the Beijing Paralympics putting her on par with record-holder Puri Santamaría.

The AS Sports Prizes were established in 2007 with the goal of honoring the most outstanding sports personalities each year. The winners are decided by a vote among readers of the paper.

Nadal's As Prize caps a year of awards after he won Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Montecarlo, Hamburg and Canada  Masters, the Barcelona Open and the Queen's tournament. Contador, meanwhile, raced to victory in Italy  and Spain. After winning last year's Tour de France he is now the fifth cyclist to hold the triple crown, joining Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault and Gimondi.

Spain's national football team, with coach Luis Aragonés at the helm, won the European Cup in 2008. The team's triumph caused a sensation in Spain and the players included  Casillas, Reina, Palop, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa, Albiol, Marchena, Puyol, Juanito, Capdevila, Fernando Navarro, Senna, Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Cazorla, Cesc, De la Red, Silva, Villa, Torres, Güiza and Sergio García.

Gemma Mengual, who won the Olympic Prize, catapulted synchronized swimming into the headlines. Though she shared her medals in Beijing, she has easily proven her skill on her own over the years, being the only swimmer to have 40 medals under her belt after Olympic, World and European championship wins. Racer Jaime Alguersuari, Most Promising Newcomer, triumphed at the British F3 International Series, making him a real F1 contender, after a double victory at Donington Park and a third win in Bucharest.