The nominations for the 2023 Laureus World Sport Awards have been announced – and this year, the world’s pre-eminent sporting Awards ceremony will celebrate not only athletes who thrilled sports fans over the previous 12 months, including swimming superstar Katie Ledecky, but several who will end their careers with a claim to be the greatest in the history of their sport.
With a record 12 Nominations, the U.S. nominees include Steph Curry for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for his role in leading the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA Championship in eight years, his teammate Klay Thompson, for Laureus World Sports Comeback of the Year following a dramatic comeback from injury and rounding out a Laureus first – three nominees from the same team – the Golden State Warriors for Laureus World Sports Team of the Year. Additional athletes shortlisted for the 2023 awards include swimmer Katie Ledecky, 400 meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, golfing greats Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler, Olympic figure skating champion Nathan Chen, World Cup winning skier Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and Paralympic stars Oksana Masters and Declan Farmer.
Ledecky is a finalist for World Sportswoman of the year.
In 2022, Ledecky finished off an impressive performance at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, where she swept gold medals in the 400, 800 and 1500 free for the fourth time in her career, and she led the U.S. to gold in the women’s 800 free relay.
She is not the only swimming nominee. New Zealand’s Paralympic swimmer Cameron Leslie is a nominee for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. He also plays wheelchair rugby.
More than 1,400 members of the Laureus Global Nominations Panel decide on all but one category – the shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability Award was chosen by a panel from the International Paralympics Committee. What makes the Awards unique is the final stage: a vote by 71 Academy members of the Laureus World Sports Academy made up of athletes who redefined their sport and make up the ultimate jury on sporting greatness. Past U.S. winners have included Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Lindsey Vonn, Missy Franklin, Patrick Mahomes, Kelly Slater, and the Chicago Cubs, as well as many more.
The full list of 2023 Nominees are:
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Steph Curry (USA) Basketball – led Golden State Warriors to fourth NBA championship in eight years
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics – three world records, two world titles in a dominant 2022
Kylian Mbappé (France) Football – Golden Boot winner at World Cup, led Ligue 1 in goals and assists
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football – captained Argentina to the World Cup; Golden Ball for best player
Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – won two Grand Slams in 2022 to take career wins to a record 22
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – defended Formula One World Championship in 2022
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics – won record fifth 100m title at World Championships
Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming – four golds at World Aquatics Championships set a new record
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics – smashed world 400m hurdles record
Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football – a second Ballon d’Or, captained Barcelona to perfect league win
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) Alpine Skiing – regained overall title at the World Cup
Iga Świątek (Poland) Tennis – won in France and USA to become World No.1
LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Argentina Men’s Football Team – World Cup winners after a thrilling final against France
England Women’s Football Team – won the European Championships in front of packed crowds at home
France Men’s Rugby Team – ended 12-year wait for Six Nations title with a Grand Slam
Golden State Warriors (USA) Basketball – NBA champions for the fourth time in eight years
Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria) – vanquished Mercedes after eight years to claim constructors’ title
Real Madrid (Spain) Football – La Liga and Champions League double for the Spanish giants
LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis – won debut Grand Slam title in New York to take World No.1 spot
Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) Athletics – world champion and a new world record over 100m hurdles
Nathan Chen (USA) Figure Skating – Olympic gold with a world record in the short programme
Morocco Men’s Football Team – first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) Tennis – won Wimbledon from No.17 seed, her first Grand Slam title
Scottie Scheffler (USA) Golf – winner at Augusta and joint second at the US Open
LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD
Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) Motor Cycling – overturned 91-point deficit to win MotoGP crown
Christian Eriksen (Denmark) Football – returned to Premier League after cardiac arrest during Euro 2020
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) Athletics – fought back from shock defeat in 1500m to win 5000m world title
Klay Thompson (USA) Basketball – won NBA championship with Golden State Warriors after 30 months out
Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling – overcame illness to win Tour de France Femme
Tiger Woods (USA) Golf – returned to make cut at Masters following career-threatening car crash
LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD
Diede de Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis – completed second calendar-year Grand Slam
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Para Athletics – four world records in three-day meet on home track
Declan Farmer (USA) Para Ice Hockey – third Paralympic gold with USA and the tournament’s top goalscorer
Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby – gold in the pool after two years out
Oksana Masters (USA) Para Cross-Country Skiing – double biathlon gold at Winter Paralympics
Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) Para Alpine Skiing – four golds on the slopes in China
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 SHORTLIST
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 sport and education
TeamUp (Global) Movement – children affected by war, conflict improve psychosocial wellbeing through physical activity, developed by War Child, Save the Children and UNICEF the Netherlands.