MADRID, 22 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The soccer player Aitana Bonmatí and the women’s soccer team were the great protagonists of Spanish sport at the 2024 Laureus Awards Gala, held at the Cibeles Palace in Madrid and which recognized the Catalan and the world champion as the best in their respective categories, while the third option for a ‘Sports Oscar’, forward Salma Paralluelo, was surpassed by Real Madrid’s English midfielder, Jude Bellingham.
The FC Barcelona and national team midfielder was nominated for a Laureus Award for the first time and confirmed her favoritism after a 2023 full of individual and collective successes since she added her second League title to her world champion title with the ‘Red’ of Champions with FC Barcelona, the Ballon d’Or, The Best, the Best UEFA Player award and the ‘MVP’ recognitions of both the World Cup and the Champions League.
The one from Sant Pere de Ribes became the first Spanish athlete to win a Laureus and after surpassing important rivals in the vote such as the Jamaican Sherica Jackson, world champion in the 200 m, the Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, the first woman in win the 1,500 and 5,000 m double at the World Championships, the American Sha’Carri Richardson, world gold in 100 m and the 4×100 relay, the Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, current world number one and Roland Garros champion, and the American skier Mikkaela Shiffrin, who became the all-time leader in Alpine Ski World Cup wins.
“Last year was incredible for me and my teammates, both from my club and the national team. I am here for the collective, so thanks to my teammates who have helped me a lot,” said the Catalan player, who received the trophy hands of two legends like the former Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt and the former American skier Lindsey Vonn.
The other Laureus for Spanish sport of the night in Madrid was in the ‘Best Team’ category where the women’s soccer team broke another barrier by being the first women’s team to win this recognition.
The national team, which made history last summer by winning its first World Cup, surpassed rivals such as Manchester City, which won its first Champions League and the treble, two other world champions such as the German men’s basketball teams and South African rugby team, the European Ryder Cup team, which recovered the trophy with the Spanish Jon Rahm in its ranks, and the Red Bull F-1 team.
On the other hand, the young forward Salma Paralluelo, nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer’ of 2023 after winning her third World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with the national team after those achieved with the U-18 and U-20, to which she added also his first Champions League with FC Barcelona, but he could not beat Real Madrid’s English midfielder, Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid player also took the trophy ahead of Real Madrid’s Colombian forward Linda Caicedo, American tennis player Coco Gauff, US Open champion, Chinese swimmer Qin Haiyang, winner of three gold medals at the Fukuoka World Cup (Japan), and the British athlete Josh Kerr, capable of snatching the world gold in the 1,500 meters from the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Additionally, the Laureus ‘Sport for Good’ Award, which recognizes projects that promote sport in less fortunate communities, went to the Rafa Nadal Foundation, which uses sport and education to empower more than 1,000 vulnerable young people in Spain and India. .
On the other hand, as for the ‘Best Male Athlete’ award, the winner was the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, while the American gymnast Simone Biles won the ‘Best Comeback’ award. The young skater Arisa Trew and the Dutch tennis player Diede de Groot won the awards for ‘Best World Action Athlete’ and ‘Best World Athlete with a Disability’.
–LIST OF WINNERS OF THE LAUREUS 2024.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Novak Djokovic.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR.
Aitana Bonmatí
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR.
Spanish women’s soccer team.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD REVELATION OF THE YEAR.
Jude Bellingham.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR THE BEST WORLD RETURN OF THE YEAR.
Simone Biles.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD DISABLED ATHLETE OF THE YEAR.
Diede de Groot.
LAUREUS AWARD FOR WORLD ACTION SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR.
Arisa Trew.
LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD.
Rafa Nadal Foundation.