# Laureus World Sports Awards

The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation founding patrons Daimler and Richemont. It is supported by its global partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The name "Laureus" is derived from the Greek word for laurel, considered a traditional symbol of victory in athletics.
The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which South African president Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech. As of 2020, awards are made annually in eight categories, with a number of discretionary categories irregularly recognised. The recipient of each award is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual ceremony held in various locations around the world. As of 2020, the ceremonies have been held in eleven different cities, and are broadcast in at least 160 countries.
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer holds the record for the most awards with six, five for Sportsman of the Year and one for Comeback of the Year. Serena Williams holds the record for most awards held by a female with five, four for Sportswoman of the Year and one for Comeback of the Year. Novak Djokovic won the 2024 Sports Man of the year award and grabbed his 5th title, making him the most decorated sportsman in the History of the Award along with Roger Federer. A number of awards have been rescinded, namely those presented to American cyclist Lance Armstrong, American sprinter Marion Jones and Canadian amputee sprinter Earle Connor, each of whom were subsequently found to have illegally used drugs to achieve their records. In the 2020 ceremony, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi became the first footballer to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award. He is also the first and only athlete to win it coming from a team sport. Moreover, in 2023, Messi once again won it and became the only sportperson as well as footballer to ever win the award twice from a team sport.

## History

   Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair.
The organisation, established in 1998 to do charity by a partnership of Richemont and Daimler became known as "Laureus", its name being derived from the Greek word for laurel, considered a traditional symbol of victory in athletics. The first Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony was held two years later, at which the patron and president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, delivered a speech which Edwin Moses has described as "iconic".
Awards were made in seven regular categories and two discretionary categories at the inaugural ceremony, hosted by the American actors Jeff Bridges and Dylan McDermott. Two of those awards would later be rescinded: both the American cyclist Lance Armstrong and the American track athlete Marion Jones were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs and had their awards withdrawn. The award for American amputee sprinter Earle Connor, who won the 2004 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award, was also later rescinded.
The awards are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of an "Oscar" for movies.

## Categories

The Laureus Nominations Panel, composed of more than 1,000 members of sports media from more than 70 countries, vote to create a shortlist of nominations in six categories:
* Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
* Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
* Laureus World Team of the Year
* Laureus World Comeback of the Year
* Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year
* Laureus Action Sportsperson of the Year
The nominees of the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability are chosen by the International Paralympic Committee.
The Laureus World Sports Academy is an association of 68 retired sportspeople who volunteer to support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. They also vote each year to decide the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. As of 2020, the chairman of the Academy is Sean Fitzpatrick, former rugby player from New Zealand. The members of the Academy vote by secret ballot to select the winners.
The public votes to select the winner for one category, the Laureus Best Sporting Moment of the Year.
The Academy also makes discretionary awards, including:
* Lifetime Achievement Award
* Sport for Good Award
* Spirit of Sport Award
* Exceptional Achievement Award
* Sporting Inspiration Award

## Ceremony

The Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony is held annually at various venues in various locations around the world. The inaugural ceremony took place at the Sporting Club in Monaco on 25 May 2000. As of 2020, the ceremonies have been held in eleven cities around the world, and are broadcast in at least 160 countries. Each Laureus World Sports Award winner receives a Cartier Laureus statuette which features a "representation of the striving human form". The award weighs approximately 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) (with 670 grams (24 oz) of solid silver and a 650-gram (23 oz) gold-finish base) and is 30 centimetres (12 in) tall.
Locations of Laureus World Sports Awards ceremonies :
| Year | Location | Venue | Notes |
| 2000 | Monaco | Sporting Club | Patron was Nelson Mandela |
| 2001 | Monaco | Grimaldi Forum | Patron was Prince Albert |
| 2002 | Monaco | Grimaldi Forum | |
| 2003 | Monaco | Grimaldi Forum | |
| 2004 | Lisbon, Portugal | Cultural Centre of Belém | Patron was José Manuel Barroso |
| 2005 | Estoril, Portugal | Casino Estoril | |
| 2006 | Barcelona, Spain | Parc del Fòrum | |
| 2007 | Barcelona, Spain | Palau Sant Jordi | Patron was Juan Carlos I of Spain |
| 2008 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Mariinsky Theatre | Attended by President Vladimir Putin |
| 2009 | Ceremony cancelled due to world economic crisis; awards presented to winners individually at other events from May to June. | Ceremony cancelled due to world economic crisis; awards presented to winners individually at other events from May to June. | Ceremony cancelled due to world economic crisis; awards presented to winners individually at other events from May to June. |
| 2010 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Emirates Palace | |
| 2011 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Emirates Palace | |
| 2012 | London, United Kingdom | Central Hall Westminster | |
| 2013 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Theatro Municipal | |
| 2014 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Istana Budaya | |
| 2015 | Shanghai, China | Shanghai Grand Theatre | |
| 2016 | Berlin, Germany | Palais am Funkturm | |
| 2017 | Monaco | Sporting Club | |
| 2018 | Monaco | Sporting Club | |
| 2019 | Monaco | Sporting Club | |
| 2020 | Berlin, Germany | Verti Halle | Twentieth anniversary of awards |
| 2021 | Seville, Spain | Online | Virtual ceremony |
| 2022 | Seville, Spain | Online | Virtual ceremony |
| 2023 | Paris, France | Pavillon Vendome | |
| 2024 | Madrid, Spain | Palacio de Cibeles | |
| 2025 | Madrid, Spain | Palacio de Cibeles | Twenty-fifth anniversary of awards |

## Winners by category
### Regular awards
#### Breakthrough of the Year

Prior to 2007, this award was called Newcomer of the Year.

#### Action Sportsperson of the Year

Prior to 2007, this award was called Alternative Sportsperson of the Year.

#### Best Sporting Moment

The Best Sporting Moment Award, inaugurated in 2017, and voted for by the public, was won by the FC Barcelona under-12 (Infantil-B) side for their sportsmanship in consoling a defeated opposition team. The 2018 award was won by fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, who at the end of the first quarter of each home game turn toward the children's hospital that overlooks the playing field and wave to patients watching the game. For the 2020 ceremony, the Best Sporting Moment was drawn from the previous two decades and voted for by the general public. Referred to as the "Laureus Sporting Moment Award (2000–2020)", it was won by Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. In 2021, Chris Nikic was presented with the Best Sporting Moment award.

### Discretionary awards

Since 2000, the Laureus World Sports Awards have included a number of accolades given by the Academy at their discretion. At the first ceremony in 2000, Brazilian footballer Pelé became the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, while American Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics was presented with the inaugural Laureus Sport for Good Award. The first Spirit of Sport award was presented in 2005 to the Boston Red Sox who had won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. In 2013, American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first recipient of the Exceptional Achievement Award. As of 2018, Chinese tennis player Li Na (2015) and Italian footballer Francesco Totti (2018) are the only other people to be honoured with the award. In 2017, the Refugee Olympic Team, comprising ten athletes from Syria, Congo, Ethiopia and South Sudan, was awarded the first Sporting Inspiration Award. The following year, the award was presented to the American footballer J. J. Watt whose "exceptional humanitarian efforts" raised more than US$37 million for those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. In 2021, Lewis Hamilton was presented with the Athlete Advocate of the Year Award.

## Winners by year
### Regular awards

Laureus World Sports Awards regular awards winners :
| Year | Sports­man | Sports­woman | Team | Break­through | Come­back | Disability | Action | Moment |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | Marion Jones* | Manchester United | Sergio García | Lance Armstrong* | Louise Sauvage | Shaun Palmer | — |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods (2) | Cathy Freeman | France national football team | Marat Safin | Jennifer Capriati | Vinny Lauwers | Mike Horn | — |
| 2002 | Michael Schumacher | Jennifer Capriati | Australia national cricket team | Juan Pablo Montoya | Goran Ivanišević | Esther Vergeer | Bob Burnquist | — |
| 2003 | Lance Armstrong* | Serena Williams | Brazil national football team | Yao Ming | Ronaldo | Michael Milton | Dean Potter | — |
| 2004 | Michael Schumacher (2) | Annika Sörenstam | England national rugby union team | Michelle Wie | Hermann Maier | Earle Connor* | Layne Beachley | — |
| 2005 | Roger Federer | Kelly Holmes | Greece national football team | Liu Xiang | Alex Zanardi | Chantal Petitclerc | Ellen MacArthur | — |
| 2006 | Roger Federer | Janica Kostelić | Renault F1 team | Rafael Nadal | Martina Hingis | Ernst van Dyk | Angelo d'Arrigo | — |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | Yelena Isinbayeva | Italy national football team | Amélie Mauresmo | Serena Williams | Martin Braxenthaler | Kelly Slater | — |
| 2008 | Roger Federer | Justine Henin | South Africa national rugby union team | Lewis Hamilton | Paula Radcliffe | Esther Vergeer | Shaun White | — |
| 2009 | Usain Bolt | Yelena Isinbayeva (2) | China Olympic team | Rebecca Adlington | Vitali Klitschko | Daniel Dias | Kelly Slater | — |
| 2010 | Usain Bolt | Serena Williams | Brawn F1 team | Jenson Button | Kim Clijsters | Natalie du Toit | Stephanie Gilmore | — |
| 2011 | Rafael Nadal | Lindsey Vonn | Spain national football team | Martin Kaymer | Valentino Rossi | Verena Bentele | Kelly Slater | — |
| 2012 | Novak Djokovic | Vivian Cheruiyot | FC Barcelona | Rory McIlroy | Darren Clarke | Oscar Pistorius | Kelly Slater | — |
| 2013 | Usain Bolt | Jessica Ennis | Europe Ryder Cup team | Andy Murray | Félix Sánchez | Daniel Dias | Felix Baumgartner | — |
| 2014 | Sebastian Vettel | Missy Franklin | Bayern Munich | Marc Márquez | Rafael Nadal | Marie Bochet | Jamie Bestwick | — |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic | Genzebe Dibaba | Germany national football team | Daniel Ricciardo | Schalk Burger | Tatyana McFadden | Alan Eustace | — |
| 2016 | Novak Djokovic | Serena Williams | New Zealand national rugby union team | Jordan Spieth | Dan Carter | Daniel Dias | Jan Frodeno | — |
| 2017 | Usain Bolt (4) | Simone Biles | Chicago Cubs | Nico Rosberg | Michael Phelps | Beatrice Vio | Rachel Atherton | FC Barcelona under-12s |
| 2018 | Roger Federer (5) | Serena Williams (4) | Mercedes F1 Team | Sergio García | Roger Federer | Marcel Hug | Armel Le Cléac'h | Chapecoense |
| 2019 | Novak Djokovic | Simone Biles | France national football team | Naomi Osaka | Tiger Woods | Henrieta Farkašová | Chloe Kim | Xia Boyu |
| 2020 | Lewis Hamilton & Lionel Messi | Simone Biles (3) | South Africa national rugby union team | Egan Bernal | Sophia Flörsch | Oksana Masters | Chloe Kim | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 2021 | Rafael Nadal (2) | Naomi Osaka | Bayern Munich | Patrick Mahomes | Maxence Parrot | — | — | Chris Nikic |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Elaine Thompson-Herah | Italy national football team | Emma Raducanu | Sky Brown | Marcel Hug | Bethany Shriever | — |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi (2) | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Argentina national football team | Carlos Alcaraz | Christian Eriksen | Catherine Debrunner | Eileen Gu | — |
| 2024 | Novak Djokovic (5) | Aitana Bonmatí | Spain women's national football team | Jude Bellingham | Simone Biles | Diede de Groot | Arisa Trew | — |
Key :
| * | Indicates individual whose award or nomination was later rescinded |
| — | Not awarded |

### Discretionary awards

Laureus World Sports Awards discretionary awards recipients :
| Year | Lifetime | Sport for Good | Spirit of Sport | Exceptional Achievement | Sporting Inspiration | Athlete Advocate | Sporting Icon Award | Sport for good society | Ref |
| 2000 | Pelé | Eunice Kennedy Shriver | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | Steve Redgrave | Kip Keino | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| | Peter Blake † | Peter Blake † | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | Gary Player | Arnold Schwarzenegger | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2004 | Arne Næss Jr. † | Mathare Youth Sports Association | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2004 | Arne Næss Jr. † | India national cricket team Pakistan national cricket team | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2005 | — | Gerry Storey | Boston Red Sox | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2006 | Johan Cruyff | Jürgen Griesbeck | Valentino Rossi | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2007 | Franz Beckenbauer | Luke Dowdney | FC Barcelona | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2008 | Sergey Bubka | Brendan and Sean Tuohy | Dick Pound | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2010 | Nawal El Moutawakel | Dikembe Mutombo | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | Zinedine Zidane | May El-Khalil | European Ryder Cup team | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2012 | Bobby Charlton | Raí | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | Sebastian Coe | — | — | Michael Phelps | — | — | — | — | |
| 2014 | — | Magic Bus | Afghanistan national cricket team | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2015 | — | Skateistan | Yao Ming | Li Na | — | — | — | — | |
| 2016 | Niki Lauda | Moving the Goalposts | Johan Cruyff † | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | — | Waves for Change | Leicester City | — | Refugee Olympic Team | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | Edwin Moses | Active Communities Network | — | Francesco Totti | J. J. Watt | — | — | — | |
| 2019 | Arsène Wenger | Yuwa | Lindsey Vonn | Eliud Kipchoge | — | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | Dirk Nowitzki | South Bronx United | — | Spanish Basketball Federation | — | — | — | — | |
| 2021 | Billie Jean King | Kickformore by Kickfair | — | — | Mohamed Salah | Lewis Hamilton | — | — | |
| 2022 | Tom Brady | Lost Boyz Inc. | — | Robert Lewandowski | — | Gerald Asamoah and the Black Eagles | Valentino Rossi | Real Madrid Foundation | |
| 2023 | — | TeamUp (Robert Lewandowski) | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2024 | — | Fundación Rafa Nadal (Rafael Nadal) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Key :
| † | Indicates posthumous award |
| — | Not awarded |