Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year

Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year
Jude Bellingham holding the Laureus trophy
Jude Bellingham, 2024 winner
Awarded for"Awarded to the sportsperson or team whose performance as a newcomer suggests the greatest potential for an outstanding career or to an established sportsman or sportswoman who produces a significant step-up in class to a considerably higher level of sporting achievement."[1]
LocationMadrid (2024)[2]
Presented byLaureus Sport for Good Foundation
First awarded2000
Currently held byUnited Kingdom Jude Bellingham
WebsiteOfficial website

The Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year (known as the Laureus World Sports Award for Newcomer of the Year prior to 2007)[3] is an annual award honouring the achievements of those individuals or teams who have made a breakthrough performance in the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards.[1] The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people.[4] The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech.[5] As of 2020, a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters".[1] The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the individual winner or winning team who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world.[6] The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of "Oscars".[7][8][9]

The inaugural winner of the award was the Spanish golfer Sergio García. During his debut season as a professional, the 19-year-old finished one stroke behind Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship and became the youngest player to gain selection for Team Europe for the Ryder Cup.[10][11] In 2018 he also became the first and, As of 2020, only person to win the award twice, after winning his first major golf tournament (The Masters) at the age of 37.[12] Altogether, the award has been won by five women and eighteen men, although several teams have also been nominated. British sportspeople have won more awards than any other nationality with six, followed by Spanish with five. Tennis players are the most successful overall with seven wins, followed by golfers with six.

The winner in 2017 was the German Formula One driver Nico Rosberg. Having beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 World Championship title by five points, Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport five days later, two months prior to collecting his Laureus statuette.[13][14]

The 2024 winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year was an English football player Jude Bellingham.

  1. ^ a b c "The awards". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ "2024 Awards". Laureus. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  3. ^ "The winners for the year 2006 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  4. ^ Snook, Ian (20 April 2016). "It's more than just an award". Taranaki Daily News. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017 – via Stuff.co.nz.
  5. ^ Sugden, John; Tomlinson, Alan (30 April 2017). Sport and Peace-Building in Divided Societies: Playing with Enemies. Taylor & Francis. p. 163. ISBN 9781136292330. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Did you know?". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  7. ^ Lewis, Aimee (15 February 2017). "Usain Bolt and Simone Biles dominate at 'Sport's Oscars'". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Nico Rosberg mit dem Sport-Oscar geehrt". Die Welt (in German). 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Schumacher wins sporting 'Oscar'". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. ^ Shipnuck, Alan (23 August 1999). "A new twist". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017 – via golf.com.
  11. ^ Carlyon, Briony (24 September 2016). "Spanish Ties Run Deep in Ryder Cup Folklore". Ryder Cup. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Breakthrough Of The Year 2018 Winner - Sergio Garcìa". Laureus. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  13. ^ Curtis, Ben; Brown, Oliver (2 December 2016). "Nico Rosberg announces shock F1 retirement days after world title win: 'I am on the peak, so this feels right'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference latest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).