Mondo Duplantis and Simone Biles, named best sportspeople of the year

The Laureus Awards, the Oscars of sports, were handed out Monday night in Madrid. The 25th edition of this awards, picked by a jury of legendary sportspeople from all over the world, picks sportsmen and women from all disciplines at the same time.

For example, in the Sportsman of the year, tennis player Carlos Alcaraz shared nominations with cyclist Tadej Pogačar or F1 driver Max Verstappen, while in the women's category, Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmatí aimed to win her second Laureus in a row, alongside tennis player Aryna Sabalenka or Dutch runner Siffan Hassan.

In the end, the winners were Mondo Duplantis, Swedish pole vaulter, and gymnast Simone Biles, her fourth award. Duplantis, current record holder on pole vault at 6.27 m, Gold in Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020, won the awards after being nominated for three years, becoming the second track-and-field athlete to win after Usain Bolt (who won it four times).

Simone Biles, also medallist in Paris, earned her a fourth Laureus Award. And funnily enough, her Brazilian rival in Paris, Rebeca Andrede, won Comeback of the Year.

Other awards included Real Madrid being named Team of the Year for the first time, Lamine Yamal named World Breakthrough of the year, while surfer Kelly Slater and tennis player Rafael Nadal received Lifetime Achievement Awards and Sporting Icon Award respectively.