SIMONE BILES WINS RECORD-EQUALLING FOURTH SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR TITLE, KELLY SLATER HONORED AT 25th ANNIVERSARY LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS
After a year in which the greatest gymnast of all time won three more Olympic golds, she took centre stage as the biggest show in sports returned to Madrid, Spain
MADRID, April 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Simone Biles stepped to the top of the Olympic podium three times in Paris last summer, and tonight she took a bow once more, this time on the stage of the Laureus World Sports Awards as she received her fourth Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award. As the most prestigious awards night on the sporting calendar celebrated its own silver anniversary, another consensus G.O.A.T. of his sport, Kelly Slater, received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his long and glorious career as surfing's greatest champion.
At Madrid's Palacio de Cibeles, the greatest athletes of the past as well as the present were in attendance, and stars from the worlds of entertainment, fashion and business walked the red carpet alongside them. Other big winners included Mondo Duplantis, the double-Olympic pole vault champion who raised his own world record three times in 2024 and won Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award; and Rebeca Andrade, Biles' Brazilian rival, honored here for her comeback from three ACL injuries which ended with gold on the floor in Paris.
The Awards evening launched a multi-media wave of posts, coverage and broadcast around the world, as athletes, media and content creators reacted to this year's winners – each presented with 'The Laureus' - the coveted statuette awarded to the winner in each category and the prize the greatest athletes in the world value above all other – voted on by the 69 sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Biles won the Comeback of the Year Award here last year, after returning from a near two-year break from the sport she had dominated. In 2024, her 'Redemption Tour' took her back to the Olympic stage and in Paris she won gold in the all-around, vault and women's team categories. In many ways Biles defies comparison, but at these Awards that is not the case: she now stands next to Serena Williams, the only other athlete to have won the Sportswoman of the Year Award four times - both were also honored in the Comeback category during stellar careers.
For Slater, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognised an elite career that spanned three decades. He is both the youngest (aged 20) and the oldest (39) surfer to win the world title, and he did so 11 times in total. He is a four-time winner of the World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award and received his fifth Laureus to a standing ovation in Madrid.
Tom Pidcock follows Slater as a winner of the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after winning the Olympic mountain bike cross country title in unforgettable fashion after a puncture, a wheel change and a daring late overtake of home favourite Victor Koretsky.
Paralympic swimming superstar Jiang Yuyan collected the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award after winning seven para swimming golds from seven events in the pool, matching the feat of Laureus Academy Member Mark Spitz. The 19-year-old also set two individual world records.
Real Madrid are the Laureus World Team of the Year after a year in which they won soccer's Champions League – for a record-extending 15th time – and La Liga, for the 36th time, another record.
And the winner of the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award is also from the world of soccer - Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old who won Euro 24 with Spain, was named the tournament's best young player and picked up the Kopa Award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, awarded to the best player under the age of 21.
For 25 years, the Laureus World Sports Awards have seen the greatest athletes in the world share the stage with Laureus Sport for Good programmes. Kick4Life – winner of the Laureus Sport for Good Award – uses football to reach at-risk children in Lesotho, promoting health education, life-skills development, gender rights and employability. The inspirational organisation, which was also nominated for this Award in 2022, has reached more than 250,000 young people since it was founded in 2005.
Rafael Nadal received the Laureus Sporting Icon Award after a year which saw the end of one of the greatest careers in tennis history. He took the stage after an emotional video montage of his career, voiced by Morgan Freeman.
Only at Laureus are legends past and present brought together to celebrate the joy of sport and its ability to make meaningful change in society. And only at Laureus do the winners receive one of the most beautiful trophies in sport – as recognised by the all-time legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
The full list of Winners is:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Mondo Duplantis
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Simone Biles
Laureus World Team of the Year Award: Real Madrid
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Lamine Yamal
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award: Rebeca Andrade
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Jiang Yuyan
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Tom Pidcock
Laureus Sport for Good Award: Kick4Life
Laureus Sporting Icon Award: Rafael Nadal
Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: Kelly Slater
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SOURCE Laureus