The Roaring Twenties - Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Nominees
The Nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award are generational talents all drawn from the same age bracket.
Some sporting years sparkle like no other. 2024 was marked by a constellation of stars who stole hearts, broke records and claimed medals. Athletes – born within six years of each other – produced performances that re-defined their sport and earned them nominations for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. This was the year of the twenty-somethings.
Léon Marchand has barely embarked on his third decade, but the 22-year-old was the star of the Paris Olympic Games. The pressure of a home audience? A schedule as busy as rush hour at the Gare du Nord? No problem for the great Frenchman, who delivered four gold medals in six days, including two on the same day, and added a bronze for a medal haul of five.
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Marchand’s golden double was one of the greatest storylines not just of Paris, but the entire sporting year. The Frenchman won the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke finals within the space of two hours. It is rare for swimmers to specialise in both events and the schedule had been rearranged to give him the chance to make history in front of a cacophonous home support in the Paris La Défense Arena. “That’s probably the greatest double I’ve seen in the history of the sport,” said swimming legend Michael Phelps, who won two Laureus Awards during his illustrious career.
With victories in the 200m medley and 400m medley, he became the first French Olympian to win four gold medals – and also claimed bronze in the 100m medley. The most successful athlete at the Paris Olympics was given the honour of extinguishing the Olympic flame at the closing ceremony.
Paris was also the backdrop for more Mondo Duplantis magic. The 25-year-old Swede – two-and-half years older than Marchand – spent 2024 consolidating his greatness, but it was in the French capital that the pole vaulter captivated a watching global audience.
With victories in the 200m medley and 400m medley, he became the first French Olympian to win four gold medals – and also claimed bronze in the 100m medley. The most successful athlete at the Paris Olympics was given the honour of extinguishing the Olympic flame at the closing ceremony.
Paris was also the backdrop for more Mondo Duplantis magic. The 25-year-old Swede – two-and-half years older than Marchand – spent 2024 consolidating his greatness, but it was in the French capital that the pole vaulter captivated a watching global audience.
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Duplantis was one of the most flamboyant stars of the Olympics, comfortably winning gold for the second time while breaking his own world record for an astonishing ninth time. “My biggest dream since I was a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of,” said Duplantis, whose historic jump was accompanied by chants of Mondo, Mondo, Mondo around the Stade de France. A few weeks later, he broke the world record for a tenth time, in the Silesia Diamond League meeting and also won the World Indoor Championship gold medal in March for the second time.
It is testament to Carlos Alcaraz’s remarkable 12 months that his Olympic silver medal in the men’s singles was a mere footnote in another monster year for the 21-year-old – the youngest of our Nominees.
He may have lost out on gold to Novak Djokovic on the Paris clay, but the Spaniard had picked up his first French Open title at the Roland-Garros venue three months previously, beating Alexander Zverev in the final. That victory singled him out as the first player in the Open Era to win his first three majors on three different surfaces. Alcaraz then repeated his Wimbledon success of 2023 with another notable victory in the final over Djokovic. The young Spaniard finished the year No.3 in the world rankings.
It is testament to Carlos Alcaraz’s remarkable 12 months that his Olympic silver medal in the men’s singles was a mere footnote in another monster year for the 21-year-old – the youngest of our Nominees.
He may have lost out on gold to Novak Djokovic on the Paris clay, but the Spaniard had picked up his first French Open title at the Roland-Garros venue three months previously, beating Alexander Zverev in the final. That victory singled him out as the first player in the Open Era to win his first three majors on three different surfaces. Alcaraz then repeated his Wimbledon success of 2023 with another notable victory in the final over Djokovic. The young Spaniard finished the year No.3 in the world rankings.
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He In one of the most remarkable seasons in the history of cycling, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar won 25 races, including his third, and arguably his best, Tour de France title.
The second oldest of our Nominees also took the Giro d’Italia with a 9.56min winning margin, and in September – the same month he turned 26 – rode solo for 50km to win his first world championship. In doing so he became only the third man to complete this triple crown in the same year, after the legendary Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987.
The second oldest of our Nominees also took the Giro d’Italia with a 9.56min winning margin, and in September – the same month he turned 26 – rode solo for 50km to win his first world championship. In doing so he became only the third man to complete this triple crown in the same year, after the legendary Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987.
Merckx said he now believes Pogačar – who in 2024 also became the only rider in history to win the triple crown and two different ‘monuments’ races (The Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Giro di Lombardia) in the same year – has surpassed him as a road racer. “It’s obvious that he is now above me,” said five-time Tour de France winner Merckx.
The oldest of our Nominees, Max Verstappen, turned 27 just before securing his fourth straight Formula One World Championship, making him one of only six drivers in history to achieve that feat.
The oldest of our Nominees, Max Verstappen, turned 27 just before securing his fourth straight Formula One World Championship, making him one of only six drivers in history to achieve that feat.
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It proved his most hard-fought success, overcoming a difficult second half of the season as Lando Norris and the revived McLaren team piled on the pressure. But Verstappen posted a barnstorming performance in the Brazilian Grand Prix in November. Forced to start 17th on the grid, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver produced one of the greatest wet-weather wins of all time, overcoming chaotic conditions that included a red flag, two safety car periods and a series of crashes and incidents, as well as the rain, to finish first and effectively seal the title. He won nine Grand Prix during the year, for a career total of 63.
Our Nominees form the core of a new generation of elite sportsmen. For some of them, 2024 was the year they established themselves at the very top. For others, it provided the opportunity to further distance themselves from their rivals. And #OnlyAtLaureus, they stand side by side on this shortlist, with so many years left in their athletic prime. Get used to these guys – they could be here for some time.
Our Nominees form the core of a new generation of elite sportsmen. For some of them, 2024 was the year they established themselves at the very top. For others, it provided the opportunity to further distance themselves from their rivals. And #OnlyAtLaureus, they stand side by side on this shortlist, with so many years left in their athletic prime. Get used to these guys – they could be here for some time.
