Written by Vaibhav Tripathi
Less than six months after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, Lionel Messi has been awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award. He had previously shared it with Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 driver, in 2020. Messi is also the first athlete to win both the individual and team awards in the same year. Argentina, expectedly, took home the Team of the Year award after ending a 36-year wait to win the World Cup for the third time.
“I was looking at the names of the incredible legends that won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic…,” said Messi. “It really sunk in what unbelievable company I’m in, and what a unique honour this is.”
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Meanwhile, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican sprint queen, won the Sportswoman of the Year award after having been nominated on six earlier occasions. Her achievements last year included winning the 100m gold at the World Athletics Championships for the fifth time.
Carlos Alcaraz, who won the US Open as a teenager and reached the top of the tennis rankings, won the Breakthrough of the Year award. The awards ceremony was held in person in Paris for the first time since 2020. It had been held virtually since due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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List of 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards winners
World Sportsman of the Year Award: Lionel Messi
World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
World Team of the Year Award: Argentina Men’s Football Team
World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Carlos Alcaraz
World Comeback of the Year Award: Christian Eriksen
World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Catherine Debrunner
World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Eileen Gu
Laureus Sport for Good Award: TeamUp