The Laurieus Awards for the year 2024 have unveiled the final list of nominees vying for top honors across several categories, including the best male and female athletes in the world.
A committee comprised of 1,300 sports journalists, representing the global sports ranking, has selected Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic, Argentine football legend Lionel Messi, and Dutch Formula One world champion Max Verstappen as contenders for the coveted title of Sportsman of the Year.
Also included in the same category are Swedish pole vaulting world champion Armand Duplantis, American sprinter Noah Lyles, and Norwegian football sensation Erling Haaland.
For the “Comeback” award, Ivorian striker Sebastien Haller, who led his national team to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations after battling cancer, emerges as a strong contender.
In the Sportswoman of the Year category, nominees feature Spanish football icon Aitana Bonmati, Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, American skiing prodigy Mikaela Shiffrin, Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, alongside American track and field phenomenon Sha’Carri Richardson.
The Spanish women’s national football team, which secured a spot in the Paris Olympics and reached the final of the Nations League, is nominated in the Best Team category alongside Manchester City and the German men’s basketball team.
The selection also includes emerging talents like English midfielder Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s prolific striker Salma Paralluelo.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on April 22nd in the Spanish capital, Madrid, where the sporting world will witness the recognition of excellence and achievement across various disciplines.
