Madrid [Spain], April 22 (ANI): Former Tennis player Rafael Nadal, Paris Olympics 2024 champions Armand Duplantis, Simone Biles, and Rebeca Andrade were some of the biggest winners at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday, as per the Olympics.com.
The ceremony marked the 25th edition of the prestigious event honored the biggest sports stars and was held in the Spanish capital.
Transcending achievements over the Olympic year, 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement award while tennis legend Rafael Nadal took home the Laureus Sporting Icon Award to a standing ovation from a glittering hall filled with sports royalty.
There was plenty of glitz on the red carpet as sports superstars arrived decked out in their finest for the most glamorous night in the world of sport. Active sports champions like freestyle skiing ace Eileen Gu and football World Cup winner Paulo Dybala rubbed shoulders with sports legends like Nadia Comaneci and Chris Hoy, while alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn returned as the ceremony host for the second time in four years.
The night began with last year's World Sportsman of the Year, Novak Djokovic, presenting the award to three-time nominee in the same category, Swedish pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis. The athletics star became the first back-to-back men's pole vault champion at the Olympic Games in more than half a century when he defended his Tokyo 2020 title at Paris 2024, while also breaking the world record for the ninth time.
'I'm proud of myself for putting myself in the position and having the dedication, and grinding through it to be here amongst the greatest athletes in the entire world. It's a once-in-a-lifetime type of award to win, honestly, so I'm not going to take it for granted,' Duplantis said after receiving his statuette as quoted by the Olympics.com.
Artistic gymnasts Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade were honoured as World Sportswoman of the Year and World Comeback of the Year, respectively. The USA and Brazilian athletes shared the all-around, floor exercise and vault podiums at Paris 2024 and were full of praise for each other's achievements.
'Individual sports can be isolating, but Paris showed that camaraderie can exist between competitors, and I was so proud to compete alongside last year's winner of this Award, Simone Biles. Simone and I are the only two gymnasts to win a Laureus Award and I hope our stories can inspire anyone who has experienced injuries and setbacks to keep fighting through the many obstacles placed in front of them on the long road to recovery,' Andrade said of her competitor, who was named Comeback of the Year in 2024.
Great Britain's Tom Pidcock took home the World Action Sportsperson of the Year award after his memorable mountain bike victory at Paris 2024, which included fighting back from a punctured tyre, to defend his Tokyo 2020 gold medal.
'Winning the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year is a special moment. No matter what happens for the rest of my career, 2024 will always stand as a highlight. Adversity can sometimes make victory even sweeter. It's fair to say the Olympic final did not go to plan when I picked up a puncture. That was the moment when all my mental and physical training kicked in. I know that athletes' stories can inspire and uplift. I have experienced that on a personal level, and I share in Laureus' mission to use sport as a vehicle for good. Together, we can change the world,' Pidcock said in a video message.
Jiang Yuyan of the People's Republic of China, also known as the 'Flying Fish', was named the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. The 19-year-old Para swimmer left Paris 2024 as the most decorated athlete of the Paralympic Games with seven gold medals from seven events - a repeat of the feat that USA's legendary swimmer Mark Spitz achieved at the Munich 1972 Olympics.
Footballers also shone bright on the glittering evening in Madrid's Palacio de Cibeles.
Real Madrid were named Laureus World Team of the Year while Spain's Euro 2024 hero, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, was recognised as the World Breakthrough of the Year.
The Laureus Sport for Good Award went to Kick4Life, a charity foundation that uses football to engage children and teens in Lesotho and educate them about HIV infection.
Kelly Slater, widely considered the greatest surfer of all time, received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement award, joining the ranks of sports greats such as Pele, Billie Jean King, Niki Lauda, and Sergey Bubka, among others.
'As a little kid, I wasn't sure if people in my area, where I was from in Florida, could win a world title or whatever, and now I look back, and in our sport, we have 22 world titles from my state. You have to believe you can achieve something in order for it to happen,' Slater said at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards.
The USA surfer was first nominated for a Laureus award in 2006 as the Action Sportsperson of the Year and won in this category in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012.
'You have a committee of athletes voting on the best athletes. That's really the biggest honour. There's a lot of popular votes in the world that are based on fan following and that kind of thing, but this is based on merit and objective order that you've done at some point in your career. To be judged by your peers is the highest honour, and this is really the award that is doing that,' Slater said about the significance of the recognition.
A standing ovation for one of Spain's sporting greats, Rafael Nadal, capped off the glittering night.
The two-time Olympic tennis champion and 22-time singles Grand Slam winner became the second-ever recipient of the Sporting Icon Award. Italian motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi won the inaugural award in 2022.
Nadal has collected five Laureus statuettes over his career before announcing his retirement in October 2024. The Spaniard won his first Laureus award, as World Breakthrough of the Year, in 2006 and in 2024 his foundation was honoured with the Laureus Sport for Good Award.
'My retirement from competitive tennis made 2024 an emotional year for me where there were some magical moments like the one in Paris carrying the Olympic torch. Tennis and sports in general has given me so much; my drive has always been to compete and try my best every time I stepped on court,' Nadal said.
'A Sporting Icon? I think that is for other people to decide. But I hope that my career has inspired sports fans beyond tennis. I gave it everything I had. As athletes, we have a unique opportunity to use our influence and inspiration to make a positive impact on the world and as I move into my next chapter, I'm going to hold on to the ideals that I share with Laureus and work with them to achieve the most important thing an athlete can do - changing the world through sport,' he added.
The full list of winners at the 2025 Laureus World Sports AwardLaureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Mondo Duplantis
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Simone Biles
Laureus World Team of the Year Award: Real Madrid
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Lamine Yamal
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award: Rebeca Andrade
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Jiang Yuyan
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Tom Pidcock
Laureus Sport for Good Award: Kick4Life
Laureus Sporting Icon Award: Rafael Nadal
Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: Kelly Slater. (ANI)
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