Several world champion athletes from the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo have been nominated for the 2026 Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards. Nominees include pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and runners Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Faith Kipyegon and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The selections highlight standout performances from the past year.
The 2026 Laureus Award nominations were announced on March 3, 2026, recognizing exceptional achievements in sports. Among the nominees for the World Sportsman of the Year is Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who won the award in 2025. In an undefeated 2025 season, Duplantis set four world records and defended his world title in Tokyo, earning him the World Athletics Men’s Athlete of the Year title.
For the World Sportswoman of the Year, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone received a nomination after being named the World Athletics Women’s Athlete of the Year in November 2025. She broke the championship record to win the 400m at the Tokyo World Championships and secured the 4x400m title. Her U.S. teammate Melissa Jefferson-Wooden also earned a spot, becoming the second woman in history to claim the triple sprint crown with victories in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events. Kenyan Faith Kipyegon secured her third consecutive nomination following a record-breaking fourth world 1500m title in Tokyo, along with a silver in the 5000m.
Other athletics-related nominations include Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas for the World Comeback of the Year Award. After missing the 2024 season due to a tendon injury and surgery, Rojas returned in 2025 to win bronze at the Tokyo World Championships. Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet is nominated for the World Action Sportsperson of the Year.
The nominees were chosen by a vote from 1,300 members of the Laureus global media panel. Winners will be selected by the Laureus World Sports Academy and revealed at a gala in Madrid on April 20, 2026. Additional Sportswoman nominees include Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmatí, American swimmer Katie Ledecky and Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
