There were no surprises on Monday 8 May at the Laureus Awards evening in Paris. The favourites left with at least one award in their pockets. And even two for Lionel Messi, who became the first sportsman to be awarded twice in the same edition. The Argentine was named Male Athlete of the Year 2022. He was also called to the stage when the Laureus Trophy for the best team was awarded to the Argentine national team, which won the World Cup in Qatar. Lionel Messi had already won the individual trophy in 2020, but he shared it with British driver Lewis Hamilton. Another winner of the Paris event was Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 100m world champion for the fifth time last summer in Eugene (USA), who was named Female Athlete of the Year. Also announced as favourite, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the US Open tennis tournament and for several weeks the world’s top-ranked player, received the Revelation of the Year award. Danish international Christian Eriksen was awarded the Comeback of the Year trophy for reviving his career with Manchester United after suffering a heart attack during the Euro 2021 football tournament. Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner received the Sportswoman with a Disability award for winning the Berlin and London marathons after setting world records in the sprint events. Eileen Gu from China, two-time Olympic freestyle skiing champion, took the prize in the extreme sports category. Finally, the Laureus Sport for Good award went to TeamUp, a programme for children displaced by war, supported by the Polish football player Robert Lewandowski.
