Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the recipient of the 2023 Sportswoman of the Year award by Laureus World Sports. This is the first time the Jamaican female sprinter has won the prestigious award after being nominated six times.
Watch Shelly Ann delivery an inspiring acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held in Paris on 8 May 2023.
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Honouring Phenomenal Female Athletes
The Sportswoman of the Year is presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation each year to honour the achievements of individual female athletes. It was first awarded in 2000 in Monte Carlo. The Foundation is an international organization engaged in over 150 charity projects in support of 500,000 young people. Beginning in 2020, the six nominees are selected by a panel of top sports editors, writers, and broadcasters in the world of sports. The awards are sometimes called the sports equivalents of the “Oscars.”
The first winner of the Sportswoman of the Year Award was Marion Jones, an American sprinter. Her award and nominations were rescinded in 2007 following her admission of having taken performance-enhancing drugs. The 2022 award was won by Elaine Thompson-Herah, also a Jamaican Olympic champion.
Other Nominees of the 2023 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award
Other nominees for the Sportswoman of the Year award included Sydney Mclaughlin of the United States, the holder of the world record in the 400-meter hurdles; Katie Ledecky, of the US, who won four world gold medals in 2022 to bring her total of medals to the record-breaking number of 22; Alexia Putellas Segura, Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barcelona; Iga Natalia Świątek, a professional tennis player from Poland who currently ranks Number 1 in the world in women’s singles; and Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin, American World Cup alpine skier with the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history, considered one of the greatest such skiers of all time.