Olympic champions Katie Ledecky, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Mikaela Shiffrin are among the nominees for this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards.
Ledecky, McLaughlin-Levrone and Shiffrin are nominees for Sportswoman of the Year, along fellow Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican sprint legend, and tennis player Iga Swiatek of Poland and Spanish soccer player Alexia Putellas.
In 2022, Ledecky won all four of her events at the world swimming championships. McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her 400m hurdles record twice, including at the world championships. Shiffrin rebounded from a medal-less Olympics to win her fourth World Cup overall title, the biggest annual prize in ski racing. Fraser-Pryce broke 10.70 seconds in the 100m a record seven times for one year, including winning the world title.
Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah won the award last year after sweeping the 100m, 200m and 4x100m golds at the Tokyo Olympics. Before that, the award was won the previous six years by Simone Biles (three times), Serena Williams (twice) and Naomi Osaka (2021). Lindsey Vonn was the last Winter Olympian to win in 2011.
The Sportsman of the Year nominees include Swede Mondo Duplantis, who upped his pole vault world record three times in 2022 and swept the world indoor and outdoor and Diamond League titles in the event. Duplantis is up against basketball player Stephen Curry, soccer players Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, tennis player Rafael Nadal and Formula One driver Max Verstappen, who won last year.
Olympic sports stars are also nominated for Breakthrough of the Year (figure skater Nathan Chen, hurdler Tobi Amusan), Comeback of the Year (runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen) and Action Sportsperson of the Year (skier Eileen Gu, snowboarder Chloe Kim).
American Paralympic stars Oksana Masters and Declan Farmer are among the nominees for Sportsperson of the Year with a disability.
Traditionally, Laureus World Sports Academy members have voted to determine the winners. They will be announced in the spring.
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