Duplantis and Biles win Laureus World Sports Awards

MADRID: Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis and American gymnast Simone Biles shared the top honours on Monday at the annual Laureus World Sport Awards ceremony in Madrid.

Double Olympic champion and world record holder Duplantis was voted Sportsman of the Year at the ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the awards, while Biles was named Sportswoman of the Year.

Duplantis, 25, took the award ahead of tennis great Novak Djokovic, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and French swimmer Leon Marchand. He follows Usain Bolt as the second representative from track and field to win the award.

Biles won the award for the fourth time, equalling the record held by Serena Williams, after winning three gold medals and a silver last summer at the Paris Olympics. “I won this award for the first time in 2017 and Laureus has been a part of my story since then,” said Biles.

“There might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it, too.” Another gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the Comeback of the Year award after winning gold in the floor at Paris while Barcelona’s Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, who had an exceptional first full season for club and country, winning Euro 2024 with Spain at just 17, won the Breakthrough of the Year award.

Real Madrid, who won their 15th Champions League and La Liga, took the team award. Rafael Nadal, who retired from tennis last November at the age of 38, was given a Sports Icon award and surfer Kelly Slater a Lifetime Achievement award.