Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was named 2023 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year and wheelchair athlete Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland received the 2023 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award at a lavish ceremony in Paris on Monday evening. Nominated alongside athletes from numerous other sports, they are the only two individuals competing in athletics or for athletics to win the top honors.
Fraser-Pryce is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100m and the reigning world champion in the event; she is also an Olympic and world championships medalist in the 200m. Debrunner, who recently finished third at the London Marathon, won the 2022 Berlin Marathon in her debut at the distance. She is also a two-time World Para Athletics Championships medallist.
🎥 @realshellyannfp reflects on being named the 2023 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.
@WorldAthletics | @Olympics#Laureus23 pic.twitter.com/mYQjpPmN0q
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 8, 2023
The Laureus awards are given in eight categories: World Sportsman of the Year, World Sportswoman of the Year, World Team of the Year, World Breakthrough of the Year, World Comeback of the Year, World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, World Action Sportsperson of the Year and Laureus Sport for Good.
Runners were also nominated in two other categories: World Breakthrough of the Year (Nigerian sprinter and world 100m hurdles champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan)and World Comeback of the Year (Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsenwho won the 5,000m at last year’s world championships, and went on to win the Diamond League title in the 1,500m).
Fraser-Pryce’s teammate, five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, received the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award in 2022. The last time a male runner won World Sportsman of the Year was 2017, when the award went to Usain Bolt.
“To win this amazing Award is a huge childhood dream come true”.
Catherine Debrunner – 2023 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. @Paralympics | @ParaAthletics #Laureus23 pic.twitter.com/EDhIkynrdZ
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 8, 2023
In her acceptance speech, Fraser-Pryce made reference to the fact that she has been nominated for this award several times in the past, but that this was her first win.
Debrunner beat out athletes of both sexes in for swimming, for ice hockey, wheelchair tennis, for alpine skiing and for cross-country skiing to take the title.
The awards are voted on by sports fans around the world. For more on this year’s awards, click here.
