The aura of the stars was a little dimmer, however Curry was crowned NBA champion, Verstappen won the F1 Driver of the Year title, and Rafael Nadal took the Australian and French Open crowns. Although Duplantis set a new world record and won the world championship title, it didn't seem to shine as brightly as Messi at the World Cup, so Messi's award was pretty much in the bag and out of reach.
In the competition for the best female athlete, a number of outstanding athletes competed together, including soccer's Putras, tennis ace Swatek, swimming superstar Ledecky, skiing queen Shiffrin, and track and field stars Fraser Price and McLaughlin. U.S. swimmer and mountain skiing and track and field icon Ailing Tani, despite her outstanding performance, was sadly unable to make it to the final six.
The competition for Team of the Year is fierce, with the Argentina men's soccer team, England women's soccer team, France men's soccer team, Real Madrid, Red Bull Racing and the Golden State Warriors all nominated. Led by Lionel Messi, Argentina appears to be a strong contender to win the quadrennial World Cup and has become the most highly regarded national team among fans around the world.
The nominees for this year's Laureus Sports Awards Breakthrough of the Year Award are also in the spotlight. The Moroccan men's soccer team's brilliant performance in the World Cup has been a historic breakthrough for African teams. And the weight of tennis players in the Laureus Awards makes this award seem expected.
In addition, the candidates for the Best Disability Award and the Best Comeback Award have also been announced. The final winners will be assessed by the organizing committee. Despite the great progress made by Chinese athletes in the field of competitive sports, only four Laureus Award winners have been honored so far, and they are not important awards. Although Yao Ming, Li Na, Liu Xiang and Xia Boyu were honored, the awards they received were for Best Newcomer, Sportsmanship and Best Sports Time of the Year, showing that there has been no breakthrough for Chinese athletes in terms of the best male and female athlete awards.
