Record-breaking Comebacks and Outstanding Athletic Achievements at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards

In 2023, Simone Biles made history by winning her fourth Laureus World Sports award in the comeback category. This recognition came after her outstanding performance at the world gymnastics championships in October, where she clinched 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 the prestigious award for the fifth time, matching Roger Federer’s record. He 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.

Other winners at the Laureus Awards included Spain’s women’s soccer team for Team of the Year, Dutch wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, British soccer player Jude Bellingham for Breakthrough of the Year