The nominees for Laureus World Sport Awards 2023 announced

This is one of the most prestigious honours in sports.

The nominations for the 2023 Laureus World Sport Awards have been announced – and this year, the world’s pre-eminent sporting Awards ceremony will celebrate not only athletes who thrilled sports fans over the previous 12 months, but several who will end their careers with a claim to be the greatest in the history of their sport.

Six Nominees have been selected across seven nominated Laureus categories, with six inspirational programmes also shortlisted for the Laureus Sport for Good Award. The more than 1,400 members of the Laureus Global Media Nominations Panel decided on all but one category – the shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability Award was chosen by a specialist panel from the International Paralympic Committee. But what makes these Awards unique is the final stage of the judging process: a vote by the 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – Olympic champions, world-record breakers, athletes who redefined their sports and who now make up the ultimate jury on sporting greatness. 

The Award winners in these categories and recipients of the Awards presented at the discretion of the Laureus World Sports Academy will be announced at the Laureus World Sports Awards in the Spring.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

The nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award spent 2022 climbing to the very pinnacle of their sport. Lionel Messi collected the one prize that had eluded him by leading Argentina to the World Cup. Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick in the final earned him the Golden Boot as the World Cup’s leading goalscorer. Rafael Nadal ended 2022 alone at the top of the all-time list of men’s Grand Slam champions with 22 titles after victory in Australia and France. Max Verstappen joins Messi and Nadal as past winners of this Award on the 2023 shortlist after defending his Formula One world title. Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault world record on three occasions and won world titles indoors and out. Steph Curry led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.

Formula One world champion and current Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Max Verstappen said:“It’s an honour to be nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. Winning last year was an incredible moment for me: it is such a prestigious accolade, and it means even more when you’re up against the world’s best athletes. To be shortlisted again is an achievement in itself, so thank you to my team Oracle Red Bull Racing for the support throughout our Championship winning year, and thank you to the world’s media for nominating me.”

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

The race for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award is led by two athletes who lit up the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became a five-time champion over 100m, while Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone added the world title to her Olympic crown with a world record in the 400m hurdles. At the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Katie Ledecky won four golds, taking her total to 22, a record for a female swimmer. Alexia Putellas, led FC Barcelona to a perfect season in the Spanish league and claimed a second Ballon d’Or. Mikaela Shiffrin regained her overall title at the Alpine Ski World Cup, while Iga Świątek emerged from 2022 as the undisputed No.1 in women’s tennis, winning in Paris and New York.  

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce said:  "I would like to thank the world’s sports media for this special nomination. This is my sixth nomination for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year and it is a great honor. I continue to be inspired by the wider Laureus movement and initiatives in celebrating the power of sports to change the world, which further makes the nomination special. Thank you Laureus and the world’s sports media for nominating me once again."

LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Two meteoric tennis talents have been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. Carlos Alcaraz gave a preview of the next era in the men’s game, winning the US Open to end the year as the sport’s youngest-ever No.1-ranked player. In the women’s game, Elena Rybakina won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Scottie Scheffler won The Masters and tied for second at the US Open on his way to becoming golf’s No.1. Also nominated are the Morocco Men’s Football Team who captivated the world on their adventure to the semi-finals of the World Cup; Nathan Chen, the figure skater who added Olympic gold to a world title; and Tobi Amusan, who broke the 100m hurdles world record on the way to claiming Nigeria’s first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.

LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Nominees for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award include both serial winners and ground-breakers. The Argentina Men’s Football Team won a third World Cup, but the first in a generation led by Lionel Messi. No team has won the Champions League more than Real Madrid, who claimed their 14th title to go with another La Liga championship.

The Golden State Warriors’ fourth NBA championship in eight years ensured their legacy will last forever. The Oracle Red Bull Racing ended the eight-year reign of Mercedes with a Max Verstappen-led victory in the Constructors’ Championship. The France Men’s Rugby Team had not won the Six Nations Championship since the Grand Slam of 2010 – and they repeated that feat to reclaim the crown in style. And there were no more dramatic champions than the England Women’s Football Team, who on home soil fulfilled their promise to become champions of Europe.

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD

The Laureus Sport for Good Award recognises an individual or organisation who, in the opinion of the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, has made a significant contribution to transforming the lives of children and young peoplethrough sport. This year, the inspirational shortlist includes a movement-based psychosocial support intervention developed by War Child, Save the Children and UNICEF the Netherlands that uses physical activity to relieve stress in children affected by war or conflict (TeamUp); one that uses boxing to challenge stereotypes and empower young women in Kenya (Boxgirls); a football project aimed at educating and elevating the homeless population in Delhi (Slum Soccer); a programme whose mission is to make sport inclusive for people with disabilities in South Africa (Made For More) and a project in Germany that uses action sports to help orphaned and migrant children integrate into new communities (High Five).

LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD

Diede de Groot, who completed back-to-back calendar Grand Slams to set a new standard in wheelchair tennis, is nominated for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award. She is joined in an inspirational category by Catherine Debrunner, whobroke world records in T53 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m on her home track in Switzerland, then moved up to marathon, winning on her debut in Berlin, and in London. After a break of over two years from competitive swimming, New Zealand’s Cameron Leslie – who also competes in wheelchair rugby as a Wheel Black –won S4 100m freestyle gold at the World Para Swimming Championships.

At the Winter Paralympics in China Declan Farmer led USA to a third consecutive gold medal in Ice Hockey and was the tournament’s top scorer; Jesper Saltvik Pedersen won four golds on the slopes; and the multi-sport phenomenon Oksana Masters added another chapter to her legend with double gold in the para biathlon.

Three surfers are nominated for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. Filipe Toledo of Brazil was world champion for the first time. For Stephanie Gilmore, a previous winner of this Award,it was world championship No.8, while big-wave specialist Justine Dupont continued to thrill in that most daring of disciplines. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, freestyle skier Eileen Gu won two gold medals – in big air and halfpipe, while snowboarder Chloe Kim defended the halfpipe gold she had won as a teenager in 2018. Skateboarder Rayassa Leal was still only 14 as she won Street gold at both the Summer X Games and the World Championships.   

LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD

What we love about sport is not always measured in medals and there are some inspirational stories within the nominations for Laureus World Comeback of the Year. Tiger Woods’ return at Augusta, 14 months after a car crash that crushed one of his feet, was as moving as any of his Major wins. Klay Thompson missed two entire seasons through injuries before returning to win his fourth NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. At the World Athletics Championships, there was no upset greater than Jake Wightman’s defeat of Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m final.

Norway’s 21-year-old track superstar responded with gold in the 5,000m a few days later. Francesco Bagnaia won his first MotoGP title from a seemingly impossible position – he trailed by 91 points in mid-season. Annemiek van Vleuten started the Tour de France Femmes fighting illness and slumping to the back of the field, before fighting through the ranks to win it all. Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match for Denmark. In February 2022, he returned to the field in the Premier League.   

The full list of Nominees is:

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Steph Curry (USA) Basketball – led Golden State Warriors to fourth NBA championship in eight years

Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics– three world records, two world titles in a dominant 2022

Kylian Mbappé (France) Football– Golden Boot winner at World Cup, led Ligue 1 in goals and assists

Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football – captained Argentina to the World Cup; Golden Ball for best player

Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – won two Grand Slams in 2022 to take career wins to a record 22

Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – defended Formula One World Championship in 2022

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics– won record fifth 100m title at World Championships

Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming – four golds at World Aquatics Championships set a new record

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics– smashed world 400m hurdles record

Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football– a second Ballon d’Or, captained Barcelona to perfect league win

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) Alpine Skiing– regained overall title at the World Cup

Iga Świątek (Poland) Tennis – won in France and USA to become World No.1

LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Argentina Men’s Football Team – World Cup winners after a thrilling final against France

England Women’s Football Team – won the European Championships in front of packed crowds at home

France Men’s Rugby Team – ended 12-year wait for Six Nations title with a Grand Slam  

Golden State Warriors (USA) Basketball–NBA champions for the fourth time in eight years

Real Madrid (Spain) Football – La Liga and Champions League double for the Spanish giants

Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria) – vanquished Mercedes after eight years to claim constructors’ title

LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis – won debut Grand Slam title in New York to take World No.1 spot

Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) Athletics – world champion and a new world record over 100m hurdles

Nathan Chen (USA) Figure Skating– Olympic gold with a world record in the short program

Morocco Men's Football Team – first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup

Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) Tennis – won Wimbledon from No.17 seed, her first Grand Slam title

Scottie Scheffler (USA) Golf – winner at Augusta and joint second at the US Open

LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD

Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) Motor Cycling – overturned 91-point deficit to win MotoGP crown

Christian Eriksen (Denmark) Football – returned to Premier League after cardiac arrest during Euro 2020

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) Athletics – fought back from shock defeat in 1500m to win 5000m world title

Klay Thompson (USA) Basketball – won NBA championship with Golden State Warriors after 30 months out

Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling – overcame illness to win Tour de France Femme

Tiger Woods (USA) Golf – returned to make cut at Masters following career-threatening car crash

LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD

Diede de Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis – completed second calendar-year Grand Slam

Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Para Athletics – four world records in three-day meet on home track

Declan Farmer (USA) Para Ice Hockey – third Paralympic gold with USA and the tournament’s top goalscorer

Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby – gold in the pool after two years out

Oksana Masters (USA) Para Cross-Country Skiing and Para Cycling– double biathlon gold at Winter Paralympics

Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) Para Alpine Skiing – four golds on the slopes in China

LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD

Justine Dupont (France) Big Wave Surfing – high-risk pursuit of giant waves continued in 2022

Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) Surfing – eighth world title for the Australian hall-of-famer

Eileen Gu (China) Freestyle Skiing – double gold – in big air and halfpipe – for the teenage sensation

Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboarding – defended her Olympic title at halfpipe

Rayssa Leal (Brazil) Skateboarding – gold in Street event at both Summer X Games and World Championships

Filipe Toledo (Brazil) Surfing– debut world title for the Brazilian high-flyer

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD

Programmes shortlisted by a specialist selection panel; Laureus Academy select the Award recipient

Boxgirls (Kenya) Boxing – empowering young women and challenging stereotypes

High Five (Germany) Action Sports – helping migrant and orphaned children integrate into new communities

Made For More (South Africa) Multi-sport – making sport inclusive for people with disabilities

Slum Soccer (India) Football –supporting homeless young people through sport and education

TeamUp (Global) Movement –children affected by war, conflict improve psychosocial wellbeing through physical activity, developed by War Child, Save the Children and UNICEF the Netherlands.