Izuchukwu Okosi
Several top athletes, teams and organizations will be rewarded on April 22 for their immense achievements and contributions to sports when the 2024 Lareaus World Sports awards will be held.
The awards is set aside for the distinguished stars and teams in different sporting disciplines for their feats between 2023 and early 2024.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe roll call of nominees for the award was released on Monday with such names such as Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham (football), Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal (tennis), Siya Kolisi (Rugby), Simone Biles (Gymnastics).
Nigeria’s nemesis at the flnal of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, hosts Cote d’Ivoire may not have won the title but for the towering presence of striker Sébastien Haller who battled testicular cancer to come back to the game.
The Borrusia Dortmund star is on the list.
Below is a full list of nominees for the Lareaus World Sports awards and their categories:
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
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
