Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year

Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year
Awarded for"sportsperson or team who has overcome injury, illness, adversity, disappointment or failure and risen back to triumph in the sporting arena. The Award may also mark a historic fightback by an individual or a team in a sporting event or series of sports events."[1]
LocationSeville (2021)[2]
Presented byLaureus Sport for Good Foundation
First awarded2000
Currently held byUnited States Simone Biles
WebsiteOfficial website

The Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of those individuals or teams who have made a comeback 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.[3] The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech.[4] As of 2021, 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.[5] The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of the "Oscars".[6][7][8]

The inaugural winner of the award was American road cyclist Lance Armstrong. Having recovered from testicular cancer, which had spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen,[9] he returned to cycling in 1998 and won the 1999 Tour de France.[10] Following Armstrong's 2013 admission of doping,[11] all his Laureus awards and nominations were rescinded.[12] As of 2023, the award has been won by a different individual sportsperson every year (seven to women, seventeen to men), although elevens teams have been nominated – the England men's cricket team (2005), Miami Heat (2007), the Great Britain national rugby league team (2008), Crusaders (2012), Queensland Reds (2012), European Ryder Cup Team (2013), Germany Men's Olympic Eights Team (2013), Oracle Team USA (2014), FC Barcelona (2018), Chapecoense (2018) and Liverpool F.C. (2022). Tennis players dominate the winners list, with seven awards, while athletes, golfers and rugby union players have won twice. The 2024 winner of the award was the American artistic gymnast Simone Biles.[13]

  1. ^ a b c "The awards". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Seville is Host City for 2021 Laureus Awards". Laureus. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Sugden, John; Tomlinson, Alan (30 April 2017). Sport and Peace-Building in Divided Societies: Playing with Enemies. Taylor and Francis. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-136-29233-0. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Did you know?". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Schumacher wins sporting 'Oscar'". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Our Founder". Livestrong Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  10. ^ Wilcockson, John; Williams, Richard; Grisenthwaite, Mike; Ballaster, Pierre; Millar, David (28 June 2009). "The many faces of Lance Armstrong". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. ^ Carroll, Rory (18 January 2013). "Lance Armstrong admits doping in Oprah Winfrey interview". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  12. ^ Fletcher, Patrick (12 January 2017). "Laura Kenny and Rachel Atherton nominated for Laureus Awards". Cycling News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference w24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).