Olympic gold medallists Mikaela Shiffrin, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Lionel Messi and Mondo Duplantis headline 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards nominations
The winners of the Laureus awards will be revealed between March to May 2023.
6 minBy Evelyn Watta
A host of Olympic champions have been shortlisted to win Laureus World Sports Awards in the Sportsman, Sportswoman, Breakthrough and Comeback of the Year categories.
Multiple gold medallists Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing) and Katie Ledecky (swimming), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (athletics), and Tokyo 2020 Olympic star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (athletics) are on a shortlist of six for the Sportswoman of the Year award.
Pole vault world record holder and Olympic champ Armand Mondo Duplantis, double tennis Olympic gold medallist Rafael Nadal, and 2022 FIFA World Cup winner **Lionel Messi**are in the running for the Sportsman of the Year.
Beijing 2022 winners Ailing (Eileen) Gu (freestyle skiing) and Chloe Kim (snowboarding) are nominees in the Action Sportsperson of the year while reigning men's figure skating singles Olympic champion Nathan Chen is in the running for Breakthrough of the year.
Norwegian 1500m Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Klay Thompson, who took gold with Team USA at Rio 2016, are listed for the Comeback of the Year.
The winners of the awards, which recognise the world's greatest athletes and teams, and the inspirational power of sport will be announced in spring.
Shiffrin and Fraser-Pryce nominated for the sixth time
Shiffrin and Fraser-Pryce are each bidding to win the Sportswoman of the Year award for the first time after being nominated five times previously.
Despite not medalling at Beijing 2022, Shiffrin regained her Alpine Ski World Cup overall title, while Jamaican Fraser-Pryce became both the most medalled sprinter in history at the World Championships in Eugene and the oldest sprinter to become world champion at 35.
“This is my sixth nomination for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award, and it is a great honour,” said Fraser-Pryce, who won her fifth world title last year in Eugene.
Another runner lighting up the 2022 World Athletics Championships was McLaughlin-Levrone, who added a world title and 400m hurdles world record to her Olympic crown.
There’s also women's swimming GOAT Ledecky, who added four world titles in 2022 to take her total to 22 - a record for a female swimmer.
Barcelona FC’s Alexia Putellas and Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek both earned their second Laureus award nominations after winning a second Ballon d’Or, and two major tennis titles respectively in 2022.
Medal Moment | Tokyo 2020: Swimming 800m Freestyle - K Ledecky (USA)
World cup stars Messi and Mbappe shortlisted
2022 Sportsman of the Year Max Verstappen is seeking a second-consecutive Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award after winning back-to-back Formula One World Championships.
“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,” said the Dutchman.
He's joined in the list by Olympic stars Nadal and Duplantis. The Spaniard has 22 men’s singles major titles to his name, following his victories last year at the Australian Open and French Open.
After a successful Olympic debut in Tokyo, pole vault maestro Duplantis improved his indoor and outdoor world records and remained unbeaten in both the World Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
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FIFA World Cup heroes Messi and Kylian Mbappe have been nominated for their brilliant efforts in Qatar.
Messi inspired Argentina to a dramatic World Cup victory scoring seven goals, while his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe, whom he faced in the final, won the Golden Boot as top scorer in the tournament with eight goals.
Another nominee is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, Steph Curry, who claimed a fourth NBA Championship with Golden State Warriors and was unanimously named NBA Finals MVP.
Messi and Curry’s teams - Argentina and Golden State Warriors respectively - are also in the running the for the Team of the Year Award, that notably includes the England women’s football team.
Sarina Wiegman's squad won their first major title at the 2022 European Championshps and is the only female team listed in the category.
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Eileen and Kim listed for Action Sportperson of the Year
The Action Person of the Year shortlist is headed up by Chloe Kim, a two-time winner in the category who won her second-straight halfpipe Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
Gu, aged 18, became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing history with gold-medal performances in big air and halfpipe, while Rayssa Leal, the 14-year-old skateboarder who took Olympic silver in Tokyo and secured victories at the 2022 X-Games and the World Championships.
Three surfers were nominated for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award; Filipe Toledo of Brazil, the 2022 world champion, Australia's Stephanie Gilmore, who won her eighth world championship, and French big wave surfer Justine Dupont.
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From Tiger Woods’ return at August 14 months after a car crash that crushed one of his feet, to Klay Thompson winning a fourth NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors after a two-month absence, the Comeback listing is full of inspiration stories.
Ingebrigsten's memorable gold in the 5000m after losing the 1500m world title races in Eugene also earned him a nomination for the award.
Full list of nominees
Sportsman of the Year
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
Sportswoman of the Year
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
Team of the Year
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)
Breakthrough of the Year
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
Comeback of the Year
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
The Great Comeback
Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability
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
Action Sportsperson of the Year
Justine Dupont (France) Big Wave Surfing
Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) Surfing
Ailing (Eileen) Gu (China) Freestyle Skiing
Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboarding
Rayssa Leal (Brazil) Skateboarding
Filipe Toledo (Brazil) Surfing
Sport for Good Award
Boxgirls (Kenya) Boxing
High Five (Germany) Action Sports
Made For More (South Africa) Multi-sport
Slum Soccer (India) Football
TeamUp (Global) Movement
