In 2023, Simone Biles achieved an incredible feat by winning her fourth Laureus World Sports award in the comeback category. This remarkable accomplishment recognized her outstanding performance at the world gymnastics championships in October, where she won four gold medals and one silver after taking a two-year break from competition following the Tokyo Games. Biles had previously been nominated for Comeback of the Year in 2022, when she made a successful return from the twisties to win an Olympic balance beam bronze.
In the Sportsman of the Year category, Novak Djokovic claimed his fifth prestigious award, matching Roger Federer’s record. Djokovic was nominated alongside notable athletes such as pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, soccer stars Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi, sprinter Noah Lyles, and Formula One driver Max Verstappen. Aitana Bonmati, a Spanish soccer player, was named Sportswoman of the Year, beating out contenders such as Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, tennis player Iga Swiatek, and track stars Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson, and Faith Kipyegon.
The Laureus Awards also recognized other outstanding achievements in sports. Spain’s women’s soccer team was named Team of the Year while Dutch wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot was awarded Sportsperson with a Disability. British soccer player Jude Bellingham received Breakthrough of the Year recognition while Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew was honored as Action Sportsperson of the Year. The recipients were chosen by a panel of 69 esteemed members of the Laureus World Sports Academy who are legendary athletes themselves. The Laureus Awards were inaugurated in 2000 as a means of recognizing outstanding achievements in sports.