Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual disabled athletes from the world of Paralympic sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards. The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people. The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech. Nominations for the award come from a specialist panel. The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the winner who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world. The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of "Oscars".

The first winner of the award was the Australian wheelchair racer, Louise Sauvage, who had won three medals at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. In 2002, Esther Vergeer, a Dutch wheelchair tennis player, was selected as the award winner. Described as the "most dominant athlete in the world", Vergeer won 470 matches in a row during her career, collecting 284 titles, including 21 grand slam singles titles and 23 grand slam doubles titles. She is one of two people to have won the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award more than once, winning again in 2008; she was also nominated in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012. The Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias has the most wins, collecting the award three times with a further three nominations, while German racing cyclist Michael Teuber has been nominated the most times (four) without winning. The 2004 winner, Canadian sprinter Earle Connor, had his award and his 2002 nomination rescinded after he failed a drugs test. Athletes have been the most successful at the awards with 6 wins and 28 nominations (excluding Connor's results), followed by swimmers with 4 wins and 19 nominations. The award was not presented in the 2021 ceremony. The 2026 winner of the award was the Brazilian Paralympic swimmer Gabriel Araújo.

List of winners and nominees + Key * Indicates individual whose award or nomination was later rescinded

+ Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability winners and nominees Year Image Winner Nationality Sport Nominees Refs 2000 Athletics Brian Frasure () – athletics Béatrice Hess () – swimming 2001 Sailing Shea Cowart () – athletics David Hall () – wheelchair tennisBéatrice Hess () – swimming Lee Pearson () – equestrian 2002 Wheelchair tennis Heidi Andreasen () – swimming Earle Connor* () – athleticsGerd Schönfelder () – alpine skiing Beat Schwarzenbach () – cycling 2003 Alpine skiing Tanja Kari () – cross-country skiing Chantal Petitclerc () – athleticsPaul Schulte () – wheelchair basketball Michael Teuber () – cycling 2004 * Athletics Natalie du Toit () – swimming Vitalis Lanshima () – athleticsRonny Persson () – alpine skiing Michael Teuber () – cycling Nicola Tustain () – equestrian 2005 Athletics Cheri Blauwet () – athletics Jonas Jacobsson () – shootingLee Pearson () – equestrian Clodoaldo Silva () – swimming Henry Wanyoike () – athletics 2006 Athletics Kirsten Bruhn () – swimming Zsuzsanna Krajnyak () – wheelchair fencingLeo-Pekka Tähti () – athletics Esther Vergeer () – wheelchair tennis Henry Wanyoike () – athletics 2007 Alpine skiing Kurt Fearnley () – athletics Edith Hunkeler () – athleticsJavier Otxoa () – cycling Kazem Rajabi () – powerlifting Esther Vergeer () – wheelchair tennis 2008 Wheelchair tennis Daniel Dias () – swimming Darren Kenny () – cyclingSarah Storey () – cycling/swimming Michael Teuber () – cycling 2009 Swimming April Holmes () – athletics Jonas Jacobsson () – shooting Darren Kenny () – cycling Zhang Lixin () – athletics Teresa Perales () – swimming 2010 Swimming Justin Eveson () – wheelchair basketball/swimming Kurt Fearnley () – athletics Gizem Girişmen () – archery Shingo Kunieda () – wheelchair tennis Michael Teuber () – cycling 2011 Biathlon / Cross-country skiing Matthew Cowdrey () – swimming Daniel Dias () – swimming Jakub Krako () – alpine skiing Esther Vergeer () – wheelchair tennis Lauren Woolstencroft () – alpine skiing 2012 Athletics Daniel Dias () – swimming Terezinha Guilhermina () – athletics Esther Vergeer () – wheelchair tennis David Weir () – athletics Irek Zaripov () – biathlon / cross-country skiing 2013 Swimming Patrick Anderson () – wheelchair basketball Johanna Benson () – athletics Alan Oliveira () – athletics David Weir () – athletics Alex Zanardi () – cycling 2014 Alpine skiing Marcel Hug () – athletics Tatyana McFadden () – athletics Sophie Pascoe () – swimming Sarah Louise Rung () – swimming Olga Sviderska () – swimming 2015 Athletics Shelley Gautier () – cycling Roman Petushkov () – Nordic skiing Anna Schaffelhuber () – alpine skiing Sarah Storey () – cycling Leung Yuk Wing () – boccia 2016 Swimming Marie Bochet () – alpine skiing Liu Cuiqing () – athletics Omara Durand () – athletics Pieter du Preez () – athletics/cycling Leung Yuk Wing () – boccia 2017 Wheelchair fencing Ihar Boki () – swimming Omara Durand () – athletics Marcel Hug () – athletics Sophie Pascoe () – swimming Siamand Rahman () – powerlifting 2018 Wheelchair athletics Yui Kamiji () – Wheelchair tennis Oksana Masters () – Paralympic cross-country skiing Bibian Mentel-Spee () – Para-snowboarding Jetze Plat () – Paratriathlon/cycling Markus Rehm () – athletics 2019 Alpine skiing Brian McKeever () - Paralympic cross-country skiing Diede de Groot () – wheelchair tennis Grigorios Polychronidis () – boccia Markus Rehm () – athletics Oksana Masters () – Paralympic cross-country skiing 2020 Paralympic cross-country skiing Alice Tai () – swimming Diede de Groot () – wheelchair tennis Jetze Plat () – Paratriathlon Manuela Schär () – athletics Omara Durand () – athletics 2021 Not awarded 2022 Wheelchair athletics Diede de Groot () – wheelchair tennis Jetze Plat () – Paratriathlon Sarah Storey () – cycling Shingo Kunieda () – wheelchair tennis Susana Rodriguez () - Paratriathlon 2023 Wheelchair athletics Cameron Leslie () - swimming Declan Farmer () - para ice hockey Diede de Groot () – wheelchair tennis Jesper Saltvik Pedersen () – alpine skiing Oksana Masters () – Paralympic cross-country skiing 2024 Wheelchair tennis Simone Barlaam () - swimming Danylo Chufarov () - swimming Luca Ekler () - athletics Nicole Murray () - cycling Markus Rehm () - athletics 2025 Para swimmingCatherine Debrunner () – athletics Tokito Oda () – wheelchair tennis Teresa Perales () – Para swimming Matt Stutzman () – Para archery Zimo Qu () – Para badminton 2026 Para swimmingSimone Barlaam () – para swimming Catherine Debrunner () – para-athletics Kelsey DiClaudio () – para ice hockey David Kratochvíl () – para swimming Kiara Rodríguez () – para-athletics

Statistics Statistics are correct as of 2026 ceremony. + Key * Indicates totals which exclude rescissions

+ Winners by nationalityCountry Winners Nominations 4 7 3 12 3 9 3 5 3 2 2 11 2 11 1* 5* 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 1 0 11 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

+ Winners by sport Sport Winners Nominations Athletics 8* 35* Swimming 6 27 Wheelchair tennis 3 13 Alpine skiing 3 8 Cross-country skiing 2 6 Biathlon 1 1 Wheelchair fencing 1 1 Sailing 1 0 Cycling 0 15 Triathlon 0 4 Equestrian 0 3 Wheelchair basketball 0 3 Boccia 0 2 Powerlifting 0 2 Shooting 0 2 Archery 0 2 Para Ice Hockey 0 2 Boccia 0 1 Nordic skiing 0 1 Snowboarding 0 1 Badminton 0 1

+ Multiple winners and nominees Name Wins Nominations 3 3 2 4 2 3 1 4 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Gabriel Araújo 1 1 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2

See also Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award Paralympic Games

References