Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles, Aitana Bonmati, Jude Bellingham among winners at 2024 Laureus Awards
Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles, Aitana Bonmatí and Jude Bellingham took home prizes at a glamorous 2024 Laureus Sports Awards ceremony in Madrid on Monday (22 April).
But the star power was anything but limited to the winners.
Football figures Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Raul, and Patrice Evra joined Olympic champions Boris Becker, Lindsey Vonn, Nadia Comaneci, Michael Johnson and Jessica Ennis-Hill, rugby player Bryan Habana, squash's Nicol David, and surfing world champion Filipe Toledo in walking the red carpet on a sun-kissed evening.
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and sprinting GOAT Usain Bolt presented Djokovic and Bonmati with their awards, respectively, while tennis ace and Real Madrid fan Carlos Alcaraz gave the award to his team’s current talisman, Bellingham.
Serbian tennis star Djokovic became the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a fifth time, as voted for by 69 sporting greats in the Laureus World Sports Academy.
The Serbian ended 2023 in possession of three of the four major titles in men’s tennis – and only missed out on a Calendar Slam after a classic Wimbledon final lost to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz.
“I think back to 2012, when I won it for the first time as a 24-year-old. I am very proud to be here 12 years later, reflecting on a year that brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success,” Djokovic said.
“The Laureus mission of using sport as a power for good has been changing lives for 25 years and embodies the values of its founding patron, Nelson Mandela. I want to add my support to Laureus Sport for Good and the work they are doing to transform lives around the world.”
Next up, Bonmati became the first footballer to win the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award, after a golden year that included Liga F and Champions League titles with Barcelona, and a World Cup with Spain. On an individual note, the midfielder also won the Golden Ball and Ballon d’Or prizes.
The midfielder was back on stage shortly after alongside her world champion Spanish teammates, who became the first all-female team to win the Laureus World Team of the Year Award.
“It is humbling to see the list of previous winners of this Award. From Serena Williams to Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Naomi Osaka, and last year’s winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, they are all incredible athletes who have not only excelled in their chosen sports, but been incredible role models for younger generations of young women and girls,” Bonmati said of her individual award.
“As the first women’s team to win the Laureus, we are proud of our status as pioneers and as a group we are as committed to equality and representation as we are to what we do on the football pitch.
“Our national team is a group like no other – our strength comes from every challenge we have faced, both on and off the field of play. I believe we have met them all, and I hope that we can be an inspiration to young girls in Spain and around the world, to not just take up football but participate in sport and enjoy all the benefits it brings.”
Aitana Bonmati of FC Barcelona and Spain won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award.
It’s fair to say that Jude Bellingham is enjoying life in the Spanish capital, having scored 10 goals in his first 10 starts for Real Madrid.
As a result, the English midfielder won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award just a few kilometres from the Bernabeu, where he has become a focal point for Los Blancos at the age of 20.
USA’s Simone Biles, meanwhile, was honoured with the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Following a two-year break from sport, in which she was praised for providing a wider platform and focus on mental health, the four-time Olympic gold medallist made a triumphant return with four titles at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium.
Carlos Alcaraz presented Jude Bellingham with the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award.
Elsewhere, Arisa Trew became the first female skater to win the Action World Sportsperson of the Year Award.
The 13-year-old Australian made history in 2023 in becoming the first female athlete to land a 720 (two full rotations) in vert skateboarding
It was appropriate that she did so at the Tony Hawk Vert Alert in Utah. The event’s host, Hawk, a Member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, was the first skateboarder to land the trick, back in 1985.
Diede de Groot became the second wheelchair tennis player – after Esther Vergeer’s success in 2008 and 2002 – to pick up the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.
The Dutchwoman earned the Award following a historic 2023 in which she extended her run without defeat to 127 matches, claiming a third successive calendar Grand Slam – a feat unmatched in the history of tennis.
Finally, the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Fundación Rafa Nadal, which uses sport and education to inspire over 1,000 young people in economically-challenged communities in Spain and India.
Rafa Nadal, the patron of the programme and himself a five-time winner at the Laureus Awards, was in Madrid to accept the honour for an initiative whose benefits extend far beyond the tennis court.
2024 Laureus Awards: Full list of Winners
- Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Novak Djokovic
- Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Aitana Bonmatí
- Laureus World Team of the Year Award: Spain Women’s Football Team
- Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Jude Bellingham
- Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award: Simone Biles
- Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Arisa Trew
- Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Diede de Groot
- Laureus Sport for Good Award: Fundación Rafa Nadal