Source : ABC NEWS
Paris Olympics superstars Simone Biles and Armand Duplantis have won the top honours at the annual Laureus awards ceremony.
Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast, was named the Sportswoman of the Year, while Swedish pole-vaulter Duplantis became the first track and field athlete to win the men’s award since Usain Bolt claimed his fourth in 2017.
Biles won gold medals in the team, all-around and vault competitions, as well as a silver on the floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Games to complete a triumphant comeback three years after withdrawing from events at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 28-year-old won the Laureus award for the fourth time, equalling the women’s record held by tennis great and US compatriot Serena Williams.
Simone Biles (left) was reunited with Rebeca Andrade (right), who beat her to floor gold in Paris. (Getty Images: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu)
“I’m so happy to be here in Madrid and to receive my fourth Laureus award,” the 2017, 2019 and 2020 winner said.
“I won this award for the first time in 2017 and Laureus has been a part of my story since then. There might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it too.”
Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the Comeback of the Year award after completing her inspirational return from career-threatening injuries at the Paris Games to win the gold medal in the floor competition.
Andrade kept Biles from winning back her Olympic title in the floor routine, leading to an iconic podium moment as Biles and American teammate Jordan Chiles bowed to the Brazilian, although Chiles’s fight to be recognised as the bronze medallist continues.
Last year’s five-time winner Novak Djokovic handed Duplantis his first Laureus award after he was nominated in each of the last three years.
Mondo Duplantis accepted his award from five-time winner Novak Djokovic. (Getty Images: Pablo Cuadra)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest pole vaulters of all time, Duplantis won a second-straight Olympic gold medal in Paris, breaking his own world record for the ninth time, before shattering it once again in the Silesia Diamond League meeting the following month.
“I am incredibly honoured to have won my first Laureus,” Duplantis said.
“This is the ultimate award that we athletes want to win. I know because this is the fourth time I have been nominated and that proves it’s harder to win a Laureus than an Olympic gold medal.”
Teenage soccer sensation Lamine Yamal, who helped Spain win the European Championship last year, won the Breakthrough of the Year, the sixth footballer to win that award.
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.
Reuters
