Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award

International sports award

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award

Awarded for| lifetime achievement in sport
Location| Madrid (2025)
Presented by| Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
First award| 2000
Currently held by|  Kelly Slater (2025)
Website| Official website

The Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award is an award honouring the achievements of those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the inaugural 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.[2] The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech.[3] The recipient is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world.[4] Although the Laureus Awards ceremony is held annually, the Lifetime Achievement Award is not necessarily presented every time; it is one of a number of discretionary awards that can be given by the Laureus World Sports Academy.[1] The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of "Oscars".[5][6][7]

The inaugural Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Brazilian footballer Pelé. Since then, thirteen further awards have been given to individuals, all men with the exception of Moroccan athlete Nawal El Moutawakel (2010). Footballers have received more awards than any other sports with five, and only Great Britain has multiple winners with three: Steve Redgrave (2001), Bobby Charlton (2012) and Sebastian Coe (2013). As of 2020[update], two individuals have been honoured posthumously. The New Zealand yachtsman Peter Blake was shot dead by pirates on the Amazon River in December 2001.[8] Arne Næss Jr., the Norwegian mountaineer, died in a climbing accident in South Africa four months before the 2004 ceremony.[9] No award was presented at the 2005, 2009, or 2017 Laureus Awards ceremonies;[10] American tennis player Billie Jean King won the award in the 2021 Laureus Awards ceremony in Seville.[11] The most recent recipient of the award is American surfer Kelly Slater.

## Recipients

[edit]

Key  †  | Indicates posthumous award

|

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award recipients  Year  | Image  | Winner  | Nationality  | Sport  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2000  |  | Pelé |  BRA | Football | [12]
2001  |  | Steve Redgrave |  GBR | Rowing | [13]
2002  |

| Peter Blake †  |  NZL | Yachting | [14]
2003  |  | Gary Player |  RSA | Golf | [15]
2004  |

| Arne Næss Jr.†  |  NOR | Mountaineering | [16]
2005  | No award | [17]
2006  |  | Johan Cruyff |  NED | Football | [18]
2007  |  | Franz Beckenbauer |  GER | Football | [19]
2008  |  | Sergey Bubka |  UKR | Athletics | [20]
2009  | No award | [21]
2010  |  | Nawal El Moutawakel |  MAR | Athletics | [22]
2011  |  | Zinedine Zidane |  FRA | Football | [23]
2012  |  | Bobby Charlton |  GBR | Football | [24]
2013  |  | Sebastian Coe |  GBR | Athletics | [25]
2014  | No award | [26]
2015  | No award | [27]
2016  |  | Niki Lauda |  AUT | Formula One | [28]
2017  | No award | [10]
2018  |  | Edwin Moses |  USA | Athletics | [29]
2019  |  | Arsène Wenger |  FRA | Football | [30]
2020  |  | Dirk Nowitzki |  GER | Basketball | [31]
2021  |  | Billie Jean King |  USA | Tennis | [11]
2022  |  | Tom Brady |  USA | American football | [32]
2023  | No award | —
2024  | No award | —
2025  |  | Kelly Slater |  USA | Surfer | [33]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The awards". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ "Did you know?". Laureus. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ "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.
7. ^ "Schumacher wins sporting 'Oscar'". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
8. ^ Bellos, Alex; Fisher, Bob (7 December 2001). "Peter Blake, the world's leading sailor, shot dead in attack by Amazon pirates". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
9. ^ Mohan, K. P. (12 May 2004). "Schumacher, Sorenstam voted best". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
10. ^ a b "The winners of the year 2017 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
11. ^ a b "Laureus World Sports Awards: Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, Bayern Munich, Lewis Hamilton win". BBC Sport. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
12. ^ Lovina Chidi, Sylvia (13 June 2014). The Greatest Black Achievers in History. Lulu. p. 680\. ISBN 978-1-291-90933-3. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
13. ^ Baker, Andrew (23 May 2001). "Laureus Sports Awards: Redgrave wins 'Oscar'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
14. ^ "Blake awarded two Laureus Awards". CNN. 15 May 2002. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
15. ^ "Armstrong takes top honour at Laureus awards". ABC News. 21 May 2003. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
16. ^ "The winners of the year 2004 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
17. ^ "The winners of the year 2005 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
18. ^ "Federer, Kostelic given top awards". CNN. 22 May 2006. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
19. ^ "Federer wins third Laureus prize". BBC Sport. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
20. ^ "Radcliffe and Bubka are Athletics' winners at World Sports Awards". International Association of Athletics Federations. 19 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
21. ^ "The winners of the year 2009 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
22. ^ "The winners of the year 2010 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
23. ^ "Nadal, Vonn win Laureus sports awards". Reuters. 7 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
24. ^ Chadband, Ian (6 February 2012). "Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy savour Irish double at Laureus World Sports Awards". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
25. ^ "Jessica Ennis named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year". BBC Sport. 12 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
26. ^ "The winners of the year 2014 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
27. ^ "The winners of the year 2015 were". Laureus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
28. ^ Saunders, Nate (19 April 2016). "Niki Lauda handed Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award". ESPN. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
29. ^ "Laureus Awards: Roger Federer named World Sportsman of the Year 2017". BBC Sport. 27 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
30. ^ "Laureus World Sports Awards: Simone Biles and Novak Djokovic win top honours". BBC Sport. 18 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
31. ^ Rayan, Stan (18 February 2020). "Laureus Awards 2020 Highlights: Tendulkar, Springboks win for World Cup wins; Hamilton, Messi share honours". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
32. ^ "TOM BRADY TAKES HOME BIG WIN AT THE 2022 LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS". PR Newswire. 24 April 2022.
33. ^ "Laureus World Sports Awards 2025: Duplantis, Biles, Andrade among big winners while Kelly Slater, Rafael Nadal receive special recognition". Olympics.com. 21 April 2025.

* v
* t
* e

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award

* 2000: Pelé
* 2001: Steve Redgrave
* 2002: Peter Blake
* 2003: Gary Player
* 2004: Arne Næss Jr.
* 2005: No award
* 2006: Johan Cruyff
* 2007: Franz Beckenbauer
* 2008: Sergey Bubka
* 2009: No award
* 2010: Nawal El Moutawakel
* 2011: Zinedine Zidane
* 2012: Bobby Charlton
* 2013: Sebastian Coe
* 2014: No award
* 2015: No award
* 2016: Niki Lauda
* 2017: No award
* 2018: Edwin Moses
* 2019: Arsène Wenger
* 2020: Dirk Nowitzki
* 2021: Billie Jean King
* 2022: Tom Brady
* 2023: No award
* 2024: No award
* 2025: Kelly Slater

* v
* t
* e

Laureus World Sports Awards

Regular awards|

* Sportsman
* Sportswoman
* Team
* Breakthrough
* Comeback
* Sportsperson with a Disability
* Action Sportsperson

Discretionary awards|

* Lifetime Achievement
* Sport for Good
* Spirit of Sport

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