February 21, (THEWILL) – The nominees for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards have been revealed.
The Awards recognise and celebrate the hard work and achievements of athletes throughout the year. Among the categories are Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, and Team of the Year, among others.
The full list of the nominees, with their countries and specific sports categories, includes:
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Steph Curry (USA) Basketball.
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics.
Kylian Mbappé (France) Football.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football.
Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis.
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing.
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics.
Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics.
Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football.
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) Alpine Skiing.
Iga Świątek (Poland) Tennis.
LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Argentina Men’s Football Team.
England Women’s Football Team.
France Men’s Rugby Team.
Golden State Warriors (USA) Basketball.
Real Madrid (Spain) Football.
Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria).
LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis.
Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) Athletics.
Nathan Chen (USA) Figure Skating.
Morocco Men’s Football Team.
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) Tennis.
Scottie Scheffler (USA) Golf.
LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD
Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) Motor Cycling.
Christian Eriksen (Denmark) Football.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) Athletics.
Klay Thompson (USA) Basketball.
Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling.
Tiger Woods (USA) Golf.
LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD
Diede de Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis.
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Para Athletics.
Declan Farmer (USA) Para Ice Hockey.
Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby.
Oksana Masters (USA) Para Cross-Country Skiing and Para-Cycling.
Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) Para Alpine Skiing.
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 sports and education.
TeamUp (Global) Movement –children affected by war, conflict improve psychosocial well-being through physical activity, developed by War Child, Save the Children and UNICEF the Netherlands.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
