MADRID: Spain’s World Cup winning midfielder Aitana Bonmati was named the Sportswoman of the Year, while Serbia’s Novak Djokovic captured the top men’s honour at the Laureus awards ceremony on Monday.

Bonmati, who has cemented her place at the top of women’s football by winning FIFA’s The Best, Ballon d’Or and World Cup MVP among other accomplishments, made her way on to the stage for a second time on Monday as the Spanish women’s football team were named Team of the Year for winning the Women’s World Cup last summer, the first female squad to win the award.

“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,” said Bonmati, who also won the Champions League with her club Barcelona and is the first female footballer to win the Laureus.

“I want to thank all my team-mates and the staff of my club and national team who have helped me a lot, and because of them I am here today/”

Bonmati and her team-mates were praised for helping to combat sexism in the Spanish football federation by protesting after disgraced former president Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed player Jenni Hermoso.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady handed Djokovic his fifth Laureus award after the top ranked tennis player enjoyed a remarkable 2023.

The Serb equalled Margaret Court’s all time record haul of 24 Grand Slam titles after winning US Open last September.

Djokovic contested all four major finals in 2023, also winning the Australian and French Opens. He was the runner-up at Wimbledon.

Djokovic, 36, equalled his former rival Roger Federer’s tally at the prestigeous ceremony in Madrid.

“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth,” said Djokovic. “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.”

England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who has taken La Liga by storm in his first season with Real Madrid, was named the Breakthrough Player of the Year, the first footballer to win this award.

Bellingham is Los Blancos’ top goalscorer with 21 goals across all competitions in his first season at the club.

Gymnast Simone Biles won Comeback of the Year award after winning four gold medals at last year’s world championships, her first international event since competing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Biles, a three time World Sportswoman of the year winner, headed to the Tokyo Games eyeing a record haul of six gold medals but returned home with just a silver and a bronze after suffering a crisis of confidence that saw the American drop out of multiple events due to “the twisties”, a type of mental block where gymnasts are disoriented.

Biles, who is the most decorated gymnast with 37 world and Olympic medals, then took a two-year break from the sport to protect her mental health before making her triumphant comeback at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium last year.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal’s foundation to help youngsters in Spain and India won the Sport for Good award, while Diede de Groot earned the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award.

The Dutch wheelchair tennis player claimed an unparallelled third consecutive calendar Grand Slam last year.

Arisa Trew, a 14-year-old Australian skateboarder, won the World Action Sportsperson of the Year award after becoming the first female to land a 720 in competition.

The Laureus World Sports Awards nominees are selected by the global media, while the winners are determined by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The awards have been presented annually since 2000.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024