STEPH CURRY, KLAY THOMPSON AND GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS LEAD THE NOMINATIONS FOR 2023 LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS

U.S. Receives a Record 12 Nominations, including Tiger Woods, Mikaela Shiffrin, Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim

 LONDON, Feb. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The nominations for the 2023 Laureus World Sport Awards have been announced – and this year, the world's pre-eminent sporting Awards ceremony will celebrate not only athletes who thrilled sports fans over the previous 12 months, but several who will end their careers with a claim to be the greatest in the history of their sport.

With a record 12 Nominations, the U.S. nominees include Steph Curry for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for his role in leading the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA Championship in eight years, his teammate Klay Thompson, for Laureus World Sports Comeback of the Year following a dramatic comeback from injury and rounding out a Laureus first - three nominees from the same team – the Golden State Warriors for Laureus World Sports Team of the Year.  Additional athletes shortlisted for the 2023 awards include swimmer Katie Ledecky, 400 meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, golfing greats Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler, Olympic figure skating champion Nathan Chen, World Cup winning skier Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and Paralympic stars Oksana Masters and Declan Farmer.

More than 1,400 members of the Laureus Global Nominations Panel decide on all but one category – the shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability Award was chosen by a panel from the International Paralympics Committee. What makes the Awards unique is the final stage: a vote by 71 Academy members of the Laureus World Sports Academy made up of athletes who redefined their sport and make up the ultimate jury on sporting greatness. Past U.S. winners have included Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Lindsey Vonn, Missy Franklin, Patrick Mahomes, Kelly Slater, and the Chicago Cubs, as well as many more.

The full list of 2023 Nominees are:

     LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Steph Curry (USA) Basketball – led Golden State Warriors to fourth NBA championship in eight years
     Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics – three world records, two world titles in a dominant 2022
     Kylian Mbappé (France) Football – Golden Boot winner at World Cup, led Ligue 1 in goals and assists
     Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football – captained Argentina to the World Cup; Golden Ball for best player
     Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis – won two Grand Slams in 2022 to take career wins to a record 22
     Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – defended Formula One World Championship in 2022

     LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) Athletics – won record fifth 100m title at World Championships
     Katie Ledecky (USA) Swimming – four golds at World Aquatics Championships set a new record
     Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics – smashed world 400m hurdles record
     Alexia Putellas (Spain) Football – a second Ballon d'Or, captained Barcelona to perfect league win
     Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) Alpine Skiing – regained overall title at the World Cup
     Iga Świątek (Poland) Tennis – won in France and USA to become World No.1

     LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Argentina Men's Football Team – World Cup winners after a thrilling final against France
     England Women's Football Team – won the European Championships in front of packed crowds at home
     France Men's Rugby Team – ended 12-year wait for Six Nations title with a Grand Slam
     Golden State Warriors (USA) Basketball – NBA champions for the fourth time in eight years
     Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria) – vanquished Mercedes after eight years to claim constructors' title
     Real Madrid (Spain) Football – La Liga and Champions League double for the Spanish giants

     LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis – won debut Grand Slam title in New York to take World No.1 spot
     Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) Athletics – world champion and a new world record over 100m hurdles
     Nathan Chen (USA) Figure Skating – Olympic gold with a world record in the short programme
     Morocco Men's Football Team – first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup
     Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) Tennis – won Wimbledon from No.17 seed, her first Grand Slam title
     Scottie Scheffler (USA) Golf – winner at Augusta and joint second at the US Open

     LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) Motor Cycling – overturned 91-point deficit to win MotoGP crown
     Christian Eriksen (Denmark) Football – returned to Premier League after cardiac arrest during Euro 2020
     Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) Athletics – fought back from shock defeat in 1500m to win 5000m world title
     Klay Thompson (USA) Basketball – won NBA championship with Golden State Warriors after 30 months out
     Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) Cycling – overcame illness to win Tour de France Femme
     Tiger Woods (USA) Golf – returned to make cut at Masters following career-threatening car crash

     LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD
     Diede de Groot (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis – completed second calendar-year Grand Slam
     Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Para Athletics – four world records in three-day meet on home track
     Declan Farmer (USA) Para Ice Hockey – third Paralympic gold with USA and the tournament's top goalscorer
     Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby – gold in the pool after two years out
     Oksana Masters (USA) Para Cross-Country Skiing – double biathlon gold at Winter Paralympics
     Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) Para Alpine Skiing – four golds on the slopes in China

     LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
     Justine Dupont (France) Big Wave Surfing – high-risk pursuit of giant waves continued in 2022
     Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) Surfing – eighth world title for the Australian hall-of-famer
     Eileen Gu (China) Freestyle Skiing – double gold – in big air and halfpipe – for the teenage sensation
     Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboarding – defended her Olympic title at halfpipe
     Rayssa Leal (Brazil) Skateboarding – gold in Street event at both Summer X Games and World Championships
     Filipe Toledo (Brazil) Surfing – debut world title for the Brazilian high-flyer

     LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD SHORTLIST
     Boxgirls (Kenya) Boxing – empowering young women and challenging stereotypes
     High Five (Germany) Action Sports – helping migrant and orphaned children integrate into new communities
     Made For More (South Africa) Multi-sport – making sport inclusive for people with disabilities
     Slum Soccer (India) Football – supporting homeless young people through sport and education
     TeamUp (Global) Movement – children affected by war, conflict improve psychosocial wellbeing through physical activity, developed by War      Child, Save the Children and UNICEF the Netherlands.

SOURCE Laureus