Haaland, Johnson-Thompson, Bellingham shortlisted for laureus world sports awards
Erling Haaland, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and Jude Bellingham have been nominated for the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Manchester City is vying for the title of Team of the Year, while striker Haaland is in contention for Sportsman of the Year.
Britain’s double pentathlon world champion Johnson-Thompson has been nominated for Comeback of the Year.
England and Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham, along with Britain’s 1500m world champion Josh Kerr, are among the finalists for the Breakthrough Award.
Haaland, 23, displayed an impressive performance by scoring 52 goals in 53 games during his debut season as Manchester City completed the Treble by securing victory in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi, the winner from the previous year, is once again in the running for Sportsman of the Year.
“Last year was a very special year for me and the whole team,” said Haaland.
Johnson-Thompson, 30, won gold at last year’s World Championships in Hungary.
She feared her career was over in 2019 when she tore an Achilles. She was taken off the track in a wheelchair at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a torn calf muscle.
“The journey to get back to being amongst the world’s best after rupturing my Achilles as well as the other injuries and surgeries I’ve had over the past couple years was hard – really really hard,” she said.
“I questioned myself. I felt like quitting. I didn’t know what was possible but I had an amazing team around me who kept me going.”
26-year-old Scot Kerr secured victory in the 1500m world championship in Budapest last year, defeating the favored Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Bellingham, aged 20, has emerged as a pivotal player for Real Madrid since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, commanding a fee of 103 million euros (£89 million). He has scored 20 goals in 29 games this season.
British BMX rider Beth Shriever, aged 24, has been nominated once again for the Action Sportsperson Award, which she won in 2022. Last year, she added the world title to her Olympic triumph.
Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team has been nominated for the Team of the Year accolade.
The awards ceremony will take place in Madrid on April 22.
Nominees were selected by journalists and broadcasters, while the Laureus World Sports Academy, comprising numerous sporting icons, will determine the winners.
Nominees
Sportsman of the Year
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – tennis
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) – athletics
Erling Haaland (Norway) – football
Noah Lyles (USA) – athletics
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – football
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) – motor racing
Sportswoman of the year
Aitana Bonmati (Spain) – football
Shericka Jackson (Jamaica) – athletics
Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) – athletics
Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) – athletics
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – skiing
Iga Swiatek (Poland) – tennis
Team of the year
European Ryder Cup Team – golf
Germany men – basketball
Manchester City – football
Red Bull – Formula 1
South Africa – rugby
Spain women – football
Breakthrough of the year
Jude Bellingham (GB) – football
Linda Caicedo (Colombia) – football
Coco Gauff (USA) – tennis
Qin Haiyang (China) – swimming
Josh Kerr (UK) – athletics
Salma Paralluelo (Spain) – football
Comeback of the year
Simone Biles (USA) – gymnastics
Sébastien Haller (Ivory Coast) – football
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (UK) – athletics
Siya Kolisi (South Africa) – rugby
Jamal Murray (Canada) – basketball
Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) – tennis
Sportsperson of the year with a disability
Simone Barlaam (Italy) – swimming
Danylo Chufarov (Ukraine) – swimming
Diede de Groot (Netherlands) – tennis
Luca Ekler (Hungary) – athletics
Nicole Murray (New Zealand) – cycling
Markus Rehm (Germany) – athletics
Action sportsperson of the year
Rayssa Leal (Brazil) – skateboarding
Caroline Marks (USA) – surfing
Kirsten Neuschafer (South Africa) – sailing
Bethany Shriever (GB) – BMX
Filipe Toledo (Brazil) – surfing
Arisa Trew (Australia) – skateboarding
Sport for good
Bola Pra Frente (Brazil) multi-sport & employability
Dancing Grounds (USA) – dancing & social integration
Fundacion Rafa Nadal (Spain) – tennis & education
ISF Cambodia – football & education
Justice Desk Africa (South Africa) – multi-sport & human rights
Obiettivo Napoli (Italy) – multi-sport & inclusion