Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and American gymnast Simone Biles won the top honours as Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, respectively, at the 26th edition of the Laureus World Sports Awards, held on Monday in Madrid, Spain.
In the men’s category, normally featuring six nominees, Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner was removed from the list due to a positive test for clostebol, sidelining him until 4 May. Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, French swimmer Léon Marchand, Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, and F1 world champion Max Verstappen were the other nominees. Previous winner Novak Djokovic was not listed.
This is Duplantis’s first win of the award.
Simone Biles has now won the award for the fourth time, after victories in 2017, 2019, and 2020, equalling the record of fellow American and tennis legend Serena Williams. Other contenders included Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmati, last year’s winner, American runner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan, Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon, and Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
This year’s Team of the Year award went to Real Madrid, chosen over NBA champions Boston Celtics, the USA men’s basketball team, the women’s football team of FC Barcelona, and the Spanish men’s football team, as well as Formula 1 team McLaren.
The Breakthrough of the Year award went to Lamine Yamal, the young star of FC Barcelona.
Nominees were selected by a panel of over 1,300 international sports media members.
The awards, established in 2000, are decided by a jury of 71 sports personalities. In past years, Belgian athletes Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have won awards for Sportswoman of the Year and Comeback of the Year, respectively.
The other 26th edition winners are:
Paralympic Athlete of the Year – Yuyan Jiang (China/Para-Swimming);
World Action Sportsperson of the Year – Tom Pidcock (UK/Mountain Biking);
Sport for Good Award – Kick4Life (Lesotho/Football)
Sporting Icon Award – Rafael Nadal (Spain/Tennis)
