The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year is an annual award honoring the achievements of individual men from the world of 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. , a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters". The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the winner who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at the 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 the "Oscars".
The inaugural winner of the award was the American golfer Tiger Woods who finished the 1999 season with 8 wins, a feat not achieved since 1974, including 1 major, the PGA Championship from 21 tournaments played. In 2000, Woods surpassed his previous season in multiple metrics, more wins (9) and major wins (3) in fewer tournaments (20), earning a second consecutive Laureus Award. The 2003 winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year was the American road cyclist Lance Armstrong. He had been nominated the previous year, and earned further nominations in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Following Armstrong's 2013 admission of doping, all his Laureus awards and nominations were rescinded. Tennis players dominate the winners list, with thirteen awards, while athletes and Formula One drivers have won five times. As of 2026, excluding Armstrong, the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year has been won by 12 individuals since its inception at the start of the century. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic hold the record for the most awards with five each. Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods have the nominations record (8). Michael Phelps, Valentino Rossi, and Cristiano Ronaldo have the most nominations without a win (5). The 2026 winner of the award was the Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz.
List of winners and nominees + Key * Indicates individual whose award or nomination was later rescinded + Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year winners and nominees Year Image Winner(s) Nationality Sport Nominees Refs 2000 Golf Andre Agassi () – tennis Maurice Greene () – athletics 2001 (2) Golf Steve Redgrave () – rowing Michael Schumacher () – Formula One Ian Thorpe () – swimming Pieter van den Hoogenband () – swimming 2002 Formula One Lance Armstrong* () – cycling Maurice Greene () – athletics Ian Thorpe () – swimming Tiger Woods () – golf 2003 * Cycling Ole Einar Bjørndalen () – biathlon Ronaldo () – football Michael Schumacher () – Formula One Tiger Woods () – golf 2004 (2) Formula One Lance Armstrong* () – cycling Roger Federer () – tennis Michael Phelps () – swimming Valentino Rossi () – MotoGP Jonny Wilkinson () – rugby union 2005 Tennis Lance Armstrong* () – cycling Hicham El Guerrouj () – athletics Michael Phelps () – swimming Valentino Rossi () – MotoGP Michael Schumacher () – Formula One 2006 (2) Tennis Fernando Alonso () – Formula One Lance Armstrong* () – cycling Ronaldinho () – football Valentino Rossi () – MotoGP Tiger Woods () – golf 2007 (3) Tennis Fernando Alonso () – Formula One Fabio Cannavaro () – football Asafa Powell () – athletics Michael Schumacher () – Formula One Tiger Woods () – golf 2008 (4) Tennis Tyson Gay () – athletics Kaká () – football Michael Phelps () – swimming Kimi Räikkönen () – Formula One Tiger Woods () – golf 2009 Athletics Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One Rafael Nadal () – tennis Michael Phelps () – swimming Cristiano Ronaldo () – football Valentino Rossi () – MotoGP 2010 (2) Athletics Kenenisa Bekele () – athletics Alberto Contador () – cycling Roger Federer () – tennis Lionel Messi () – football Valentino Rossi () – MotoGP 2011 Tennis Kobe Bryant () – basketball Andrés Iniesta () – football Lionel Messi () – football Manny Pacquiao () – boxing Sebastian Vettel () – Formula One 2012 Tennis Usain Bolt () – athletics Cadel Evans () – cycling Lionel Messi () – football Dirk Nowitzki () – basketball Sebastian Vettel () – Formula One 2013 (3) Athletics Mo Farah () – athletics Lionel Messi () – football Michael Phelps () – swimming Sebastian Vettel () – Formula One Bradley Wiggins () – cycling 2014 Formula One Usain Bolt () – athletics Mo Farah () – athletics LeBron James () – basketball Rafael Nadal () – tennis Cristiano Ronaldo () – football 2015 (2) Tennis Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One Renaud Lavillenie () – athletics Marc Márquez () – MotoGP Rory McIlroy () – golf Cristiano Ronaldo () – football 2016 (3) Tennis Usain Bolt () – athletics Stephen Curry () – basketball Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One Lionel Messi () – football Jordan Spieth () – golf 2017 (4) Athletics Stephen Curry () – basketball Mo Farah () – athletics LeBron James () – basketball Andy Murray () – tennis Cristiano Ronaldo () – football 2018 (5) Tennis Mo Farah () – athletics Chris Froome () – cycling Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One Rafael Nadal () – tennis Cristiano Ronaldo () – football 2019 (4) Tennis Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One LeBron James () – basketball Eliud Kipchoge () – athletics Kylian Mbappé () – football Luka Modrić () – football 2020 Lewis Hamilton Formula One Eliud Kipchoge () – athletics Marc Márquez () – MotoGP Rafael Nadal () – tennis Tiger Woods () – golf Lionel Messi Football 2021 (2) Tennis Joshua Cheptegei () – athletics Armand Duplantis () – athletics Lewis Hamilton () – Formula One LeBron James () – basketball Robert Lewandowski () – football 2022 Formula One Tom Brady () – American football Novak Djokovic () – tennis Caeleb Dressel () – swimming Eliud Kipchoge () – athletics Robert Lewandowski () – football 2023 Lionel Messi (2) Football Stephen Curry () – basketball Armand Duplantis () – athletics Kylian Mbappé () – football Rafael Nadal () – tennis Max Verstappen () – Formula One 2024 Novak Djokovic (5)TennisArmand Duplantis () – athletics Erling Haaland () – football Noah Lyles () – athletics Lionel Messi () – football Max Verstappen () – Formula One 2025 Mondo DuplantisAthleticsCarlos Alcaraz () – tennis Léon Marchand () – swimming Tadej Pogačar () – cycling Jannik Sinner () – tennis Max Verstappen () – Formula One 2026 TennisOusmane Dembélé () – football Mondo Duplantis () – athletics Marc Márquez () – MotoGP Tadej Pogačar () – cycling Jannik Sinner () – tennis
Statistics Statistics are correct as of 2026 nominations.
+ Multiple titles Athlete Years 5 Roger Federer 2005–2008, 2018 Novak Djokovic 2012, 2015–2016, 2019, 2024 4 Usain Bolt 2009–2010, 2013, 2017 2 Tiger Woods 2000–2001 Michael Schumacher 2002, 2004 Rafael Nadal 2011, 2021 Lionel Messi 2020, 2023
+ Multiple nominations Athlete Years 8 Tiger Woods 2000–2003, 2006–2008, 2020 Lionel Messi 2010–2013, 2016, 2020, 2023–2024 7 Roger Federer 2004–2008, 2010, 2018 Usain Bolt 2009–2010, 2012–2014, 2016–2017 Lewis Hamilton 2009, 2015–2016, 2018–2021 Rafael Nadal 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2020–2021, 2023 6 Michael Schumacher 2001–2005, 2007 Novak Djokovic 2012, 2015–2016, 2019, 2022, 2024 5 Valentino Rossi 2004–2006, 2009–2010 Michael Phelps 2004–2005, 2008–2009, 2013 Cristiano Ronaldo 2009, 2014–2015, 2017–2018 Armand Duplantis 2021, 2023–2026 4 Sebastian Vettel 2011–2014 Mo Farah 2013–2014, 2017–2018 LeBron James 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021 Max Verstappen 2022–2025 3 Eliud Kipchoge 2019–2020, 2022 Stephen Curry 2016–2017, 2023 Marc Márquez 2015, 2020, 2026 2 Maurice Greene 2000, 2002 Ian Thorpe 2001–2002 Fernando Alonso 2006–2007 Robert Lewandowski 2021–2022 Kylian Mbappé 2019, 2023 Carlos Alcaraz 2025–2026 Tadej Pogačar 2025–2026
+ Winners by nationality Country Winners Nominations 5 7 5 6 4 8 3 11 3 16 2 29 2 8 1 16 1 5 1 5 0 7 0 5 0 5 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
+ Winners by sport Sport Winners Nominations Tennis 13 25 Athletics 5 28 Formula One 5 24 Football 2 26 Golf 2 10 Swimming 0 10 Basketball 0 9 MotoGP 0 8 Cycling 0 6 American football 0 1 Biathlon 0 1 Boxing 0 1 Rowing 0 1 Rugby union 0 1
References
External links Official website