Swimmer Léon Marchand, Armand Duplantis of Sweden, USA’s Simone Biles, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, Aitana Bonmatí, Lamine Yamal, Teresa Perales, Dutch F1 star Max Verstappen and Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar are among the nominees for the 2025 event in Madrid on Monday.
On 21 April, for the second year running, the Spanish capital will host the Laureus Awards, known as the ‘Oscars of sport’, an event that brings together the best athletes of the past year. The Crystal Gallery of the Cibeles Palace will be the venue for this sports gala, where the best athletes and teams of 2024 will be honoured.
The awards will include The Laureus Statuette, presented to winners in seven elite categories, and the Laureus World Sports Academy Award, voted for by the 69 legends of sport at the Laureus World Sports Academy. In addition, the Laureus Sport for Good Award is presented to an individual or organisation that has made a significant impact in transforming the lives of children and young people through sport.
The nominees for the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards have been announced, setting the stage for a landmark edition celebrating the most outstanding athletic achievements of the past year. This year’s ceremony marks the 25th anniversary of the prestigious awards, which have become known as ‘The Athletes’ Awards,’ voted on by the 69 sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
At last year’s ceremony, the Spanish women’s football team and star player Aitana Bonmati and tennis legend Novak Djokovic were among those honoured. Notably absent from this year’s list of nominees – selected by a panel of over 1,300 media representatives from around the world – was ATP world number one Jannik Sinner. The Italian was excluded by the Academy due to his ongoing three-month suspension for doping.
The 2024 sporting calendar was highlighted by the Paris Olympics, with multiple stars from the Games earning nominations. French swimmer Marchand, who won four Olympic golds, and pole vaulter Duplantis, who claimed a second Olympic title while breaking his own world record twice, are among those shortlisted for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
Tennis player Alcaraz, who won two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic silver medal, joins them alongside Formula One world champion Verstappen and cyclist Pogačar, who completed a historic triple crown by winning the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and the world championship.
Alcaraz, who previously won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, described his nomination as an “incredible honour,” reflecting on his Wimbledon triumph over Novak Djokovic and his admiration for past winners.
In the Sportswoman of the Year category, Spain’s Bonmatí is in contention to retain her title after winning a second Ballon d’Or and leading Barcelona to a treble-winning season. She faces competition from three-time Laureus winner Simone Biles, who secured multiple Olympic medals, including her second all-around gold. Also nominated are runners Sifan Hassan and Faith Kipyegon, hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and tennis world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Three Olympic champions are shortlisted for the Breakthrough of the Year Award, including Julien Alfred, who won St. Lucia’s first-ever gold medal, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, and swimmer Summer McIntosh. Footballers Lamine Yamal, Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga-winning team, and NBA star Victor Wembanyama are also in the running.
The Team of the Year category features a strong Spanish presence, with nominations for Barcelona Women’s Football Team, Real Madrid, and the Spain Men’s Football Team, who won Euro 2024. The USA Men’s Basketball Team and the Boston Celtics, winners of a record 18th NBA title, are also contenders, along with McLaren, which ended a 26-year wait to win the Formula One Constructors’ Championship.
The Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability category includes Spain’s Teresa Perales, who secured her 28th Paralympic medal, and Chinese swimmer Jiang Yuyan, who won seven gold medals. Other nominees include para-archer Matt Stutzman, wheelchair tennis star Tokito Oda, athlete Catherine Debrunner, and para-badminton champion Qu Zimo.
The Comeback of the Year Award recognizes athletes who have overcome significant adversity. Nominees include Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, who battled multiple ACL injuries before winning four Olympic medals, and Caeleb Dressel, who took an extended break from swimming before returning to win three Olympic medals. Other candidates include skier Lara Gut-Behrami, motorcyclist Marc Márquez, cricketer Rishabh Pant, and swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who returned from surgery to defend her Olympic title.
In the Action Sportsperson of the Year category, skateboarders Yuto Horigome and Arisa Trew, surfer Caroline Marks, mountain biker Tom Pidcock, speed climber Aleksandra Miroslaw, and snowboarder Chloe Kim are among the nominees.
Beyond the elite categories, the Laureus Sport for Good Award will be presented to a grassroots initiative using sport for social change. The 2025 nominees include organizations working with at-risk youth in South Africa, the U.S., Spain, Italy, France, and the UK.
The full list of Nominees is:
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis – Won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic silver medal
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics – retained Olympic pole vault title; has now broken world record 10 times
Léon Marchand (France) Swimming – won four individual gold medals at the Paris Olympics
Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) Cycling – 25 wins, including Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and World Championship
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – won a fourth successive Formula One World Championship
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics – impressive return to Olympic stage with three golds and a silver in Paris
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain) Football – second straight Ballon d’Or Feminin as Barcelona won Champions League, Liga F
and Copa de la Reina
Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) Athletics – bronze in 5,000m and 10,000m plus marathon gold in Paris
Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) Athletics – became the only three-time Olympic champion in 1,500 metres in Paris
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics – Olympic golds in 400m hurdles and 4 x 400m relay
Aryna Sabalenka Tennis – won Australian and US Opens; became World No.1 in singles and doubles
LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
FC Barcelona Women’s Team (Spain) Football – won Champions League, Liga F and the Copa de la Reina
Boston Celtics (USA) Basketball – claimed a record 18th NBA title, one more than their old rivals LA Lakers
McLaren Formula One Team (UK) – secured their first World Constructors’ Championship since 1998
Real Madrid (Spain) Football – won 15th Champions League/European Cup, La Liga and Supercopa de España
Spain Men’s Football Team – became most successful team in European Championship history with fourth win
USA Basketball Men’s National Team – claimed USA’s fifth straight Olympic gold to emulate the famous Dream Team
LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Julien Alfred (St Lucia) Athletics – won 100m in debut Olympics to take home St Lucia’s first-ever Olympic gold
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) Football – Bundesliga champions for first time in their 120-year history after
unbeaten season
Summer McIntosh (Canada) Swimming – won three individual golds and a silver in Paris
Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) Athletics – won 200m gold medal, Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal
Victor Wembanyama (France) Basketball – San Antonio Spurs centre won the NBA Rookie of the Year
Lamine Yamal (Spain) Football – named Best Young Player as Spain won the European Championships
LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD
Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) Gymnastics – battling back from injury, she won Olympic gold, two silvers and bronze
Caeleb Dressel (USA) Swimming – overcame mental health issues to win two relay golds and a silver in Paris
Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland) Alpine Skiing – won overall World Cup title for first time since 2015/16 season
Marc Márquez (Spain) Motor Cycling – returned from serious injury to win three Grand Prix in 2024
Rishabh Pant (India) Cricket – 629 days after a life-threatening car crash, returned to play for India Test team
Ariarne Titmus (Australia) Swimming – defended her Olympic 400m freestyle title less than year after being diagnosed with a tumour
LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
Yuto Horigome (Japan) Skateboarding – landed best trick of street competition to secure back-to-back Olympic golds
Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboarding – won her seventh X-Games superpipe gold medal
Caroline Marks (USA) Surfing – 22-year-old won the Olympic surfing gold in Tahiti
Aleksandra Miroslaw (Poland) Speed Climbing – set two world records on her way to Paris gold
Tom Pidcock (UK) Mountain Biking – won back-to-back Olympic titles in the cyclo-cross discipline
Arisa Trew (Australia) Skateboarding – became Australia’s youngest-ever Olympic champion, aged 14
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Para Athletics – won five gold medals and a silver at the Paris Paralympics
Teresa Perales (Spain) Para Swimming – won bronze in Paris, to take her Paralympic medal haul to 28
Tokito Oda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis – came from match point down to become youngest-ever Paralympic singles winner
Matt Stutzman (USA) Para Archery – became first-ever armless para-archery champion to win Olympic gold
Jiang Yuyan (China) Para Swimming – most-decorated athlete at Paralympics, she won seven golds from seven events
Qu Zimo (China) Wheelchair Badminton – won three golds at World Championship, then two more in Paris
LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD
Programmes nominated by a specialist selection panel; Laureus Academy select the winner
Kick4life (Lesotho) Football x Gender Equity – uses football to reach at-risk children and young people
Figure Skating in Harlem (USA) Figure Skating x Racial Equity – help girls transform their lives through figure skating
Kind Surf (Spain) Surfing x Inclusion – uses surf therapy to support young people at risk of social exclusion due to intellectual disabilities
Liberi Nantes (Italy) Football x Social Inclusion – offers wide range of sporting activities for refugees and political asylum seekers
Paris Basket 18 (France) Basketball x Gender Equity – focuses on development of women’s sport, and also promotes social integration
Street League (UK) Multi-sport x Employability – uses the power of sport to help young people aged 14-30 prepare for employment and training opportunities.
