# Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year

The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual women from the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards. The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people. The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech. As of 2020, a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters". The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the winner who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world. The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of "Oscars".
The inaugural winner of the award was American sprinter Marion Jones, who, at the time of the presentation, was considered to be "the world's dominant sprinter". She later admitted to having taken performance-enhancing drugs and, along with being stripped of her Olympic medals by the International Olympic Committee in 2007, her Laureus Award and nominations (2001 and 2003) were rescinded. Sportswomen from athletics are the most successful overall, with eight wins and thirty-one nominations (excluding Jones' rescissions). American sportswomen have won more awards and nominations than any other nationality, with ten wins and thirty-six nominations. Serena Williams holds the record for the most awards with four. The 2024 award was won by Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmatí who became the first footballer to ever win the award.

## List of winners and nominees

Key :
| * | Indicates individual whose award or nomination was later rescinded |

## Statistics

    Statistics are correct as of 2024 nominations.
Multiple winners and nominees :
| Name | Wins | Nominations |
| Serena Williams | 4 | 5 |
| Simone Biles | 3 | 3 |
| Yelena Isinbayeva | 2 | 4 |
| Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | 1 | 5 |
| Annika Sörenstam | 1 | 4 |
| Lindsey Vonn | 1 | 3 |
| Justine Henin | 1 | 2 |
| Janica Kostelić | 1 | 1 |
| Jessica Ennis | 1 | 1 |
| Genzebe Dibaba | 1 | 1 |
| Naomi Osaka | 1 | 1 |
| Missy Franklin | 1 | 1 |
| Elaine Thompson-Herah | 1 | 1 |
| Cathy Freeman | 1 | 0 |
| Jennifer Capriati | 1 | 0 |
| Kelly Holmes | 1 | 0 |
| Vivian Cheruiyot | 1 | 0 |
| Aitana Bonmatí | 1 | 0 |
| Allyson Felix | 0 | 5 |
| Katie Ledecky | 0 | 5 |
| Carolina Klüft | 0 | 4 |
| Venus Williams | 0 | 3 |
| Inge de Bruijn | 0 | 3 |
| Paula Radcliffe | 0 | 3 |
| Mikaela Shiffrin | 0 | 3 |
| Maria Sharapova | 0 | 2 |
| Kim Clijsters | 0 | 2 |
| Tirunesh Dibaba | 0 | 2 |
| Lorena Ochoa | 0 | 2 |
| Tina Maze | 0 | 2 |
| Angelique Kerber | 0 | 2 |
| Alexia Putellas | 0 | 2 |
| Iga Swiatek | 0 | 2 |
| Mikaela Shiffrin | 0 | 2 |
Winners by nationality :
| Country | Winners | Nominations |
| USA | 10 | 36 |
| JAM | 2 | 7 |
| RUS | 2 | 6 |
| GBR | 2 | 5 |
| SWE | 1 | 8 |
| AUS | 1 | 5 |
| BEL | 1 | 4 |
| ETH | 1 | 3 |
| CRO | 1 | 2 |
| JPN | 1 | 2 |
| KEN | 1 | 2 |
| ESP | 1 | 2 |
| GER | 0 | 5 |
| NED | 0 | 5 |
| CZE | 0 | 2 |
| ITA | 0 | 2 |
| KEN | 0 | 2 |
| MEX | 0 | 2 |
| POL | 0 | 2 |
| ROU | 0 | 2 |
| SLO | 0 | 2 |
| AUT | 0 | 1 |
| BRA | 0 | 1 |
| CHN | 0 | 1 |
| DEN | 0 | 1 |
| FRA | 0 | 1 |
| MOZ | 0 | 1 |
| NZL | 0 | 1 |
| RSA | 0 | 1 |
| SUI | 0 | 1 |
| TPE | 0 | 1 |
Winners by sport :
| Sport | Winners | Nominations |
| Athletics | 9 | 46 |
| Tennis | 7 | 26 |
| Gymnastics | 3 | 0 |
| Alpine skiing | 2 | 12 |
| Swimming | 1 | 14 |
| Golf | 1 | 8 |
| Football | 1 | 7 |
| Cycling | 0 | 3 |
| Basketball | 0 | 1 |
| Nordic skiing | 0 | 1 |
| Snowboarding | 0 | 1 |
| Triathlon | 0 | 1 |