Simone Biles, Mondo Duplantis win big at 25th Laureus World Sports Awards
Paris Olympians and Paralympians were the big winners of the 25th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, including superstars Simone Biles and Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis.
The Laureus Awards, co-hosted this year by CNN Sports' Amanda Davies, honor sports' biggest athletes and those using sport for good. And this edition of the awards were bigger than ever as Laureus celebrated 25 years of athletic feats.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, received her fourth Sportswoman of the Year Award after adding three golds and a silver medal to her resume at her third Olympics this past summer. The American tied tennis legend Serena Williams as the only athletes to receive the Sportswoman of the Year award four times.
'I won this Award for the first time in 2017 and Laureus has been a part of my story since then, and I share their belief that sport has the power to change the world,' Biles said of her record night.
'That might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it, too. Or it could be the incredible work Laureus Sport for Good has undertaken for the past 25 years, all over the world.'
Swedish poler-vaulter Duplantis became only the second track-and-field athlete, after four-time winner Usain Bolt, to receive the Sportsman of the Year award. The 25-year-old broke his own world record to secure his second Olympic gold medal and become the first men's pole vaulter to win back-to-back golds since Bob Richards in 1956.
'The Laureus Awards are the ultimate awards that we athletes want to win. I know because this is the fourth time I have been nominated – and that proves it's harder to win a Laureus than an Olympic gold medal!' Duplantis joked.
'I'm following in the footsteps of giants like Novak (Djokovic), Usain, Rafael Nadal and Lionel Messi. The list of past winners of this Award is like a history of sporting greatness over the past 25 years.'
Other highlights of the event in Madrid included Biles' friend and rival Rebeca Andrade winning the Comeback of the Year Award. The Brazilian considered quitting the sport after suffering her third ACL tear in four years. However, she came back and competed in her third Olympics in Paris – earning a gold, two silvers and a bronze – to become the most decorated Brazilian Olympian of all time. Her gold medal moment led to one of the most iconic photos of the Olympics, with Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing down to Andrade on the podium.
'Individual sports can be isolating, but Paris showed that camaraderie can exist between competitors, and I was so proud to compete alongside last year's winner of this Award, Simone Biles,' Andrade said after the win.
'Simone and I are the only two gymnasts to win a Laureus Award and I hope our stories can inspire anyone who has experienced injuries and setbacks to keep fighting through the many obstacles placed in front of them on the long road to recovery.'
Later on, despite Real Madrid coming away winners of the Team of the Year award, it was rival Barcelona's teen phenom Lamine Yamal who received the Breakthrough of the Year Award.
At only 16 years old, the Spaniard became the youngest player and goalscorer in European Championship history. He then rang in his birthday by becoming the youngest to play in a Euros final the day after turning 17.
The Laureus Awards are not just about honoring the biggest athletes, but those who are using sport to make positive changes in society. This year's Sport for Good Award went to Kick4Life, an organization started in 2005 focused on using football to reach at-risk youth in Lesotho.
All in all, it was a massive evening to celebrate sport with the world's biggest athletes and sport gamechangers present in Madrid.
Sportsman of the Year Award: Mondo Duplantis
Sportswoman of the Year Award: Simone Biles
Team of the Year Award: Real Madrid
Breakthrough of the Year Award: Lamine Yamal
Comeback of the Year Award: Rebeca Andrade
Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Jiang Yuyan
Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Tom Pidcock
Sport for Good Award: Kick4Life
Sporting Icon Award: Rafael Nadal
Lifetime Achievement Award: Kelly Slater
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18 minutes ago
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MMA pound-for-pound rankings, June 2025: Is Kayla Harrison the No. 1 women's fighter in the world?
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Islam Makhachev 2. Ilia Topuria 3. Merab Dvalishvili 4. Tom Aspinall 5. Alexandre Pantoja 6. Magomed Ankalaev 7. Jon Jones 8. Alex Pereira 9. Francis Ngannou 10. Dricus Du Plessis WOMEN 1. Zhang Weili 2. Valentina Shevchenko 3. Kayla Harrison 4. Dakota Ditcheva 5. Cris Cyborg 6. Julianna Pena 7. Natalia Silva 8. Manon Fiorot Advertisement 9. Virna Jandiroba 10. Seika Izawa BEN FOWLKES MEN 1. Islam Makhachev 2. Ilia Topuria 3. Merab Dvalishvili 4. Alexandre Pantoja 5. Dricus Du Plessis 6. Magomed Ankalaev 7. Tom Aspinall 8. Francis Ngannou 9. Jon Jones 10. Jack Della Maddalena WOMEN 1. Zhang Weili 2. Valentina Shevchenko 3. Kayla Harrison 4. Cris Cyborg 5. Dakota Ditcheva 6. Virna Jandiroba 7. Natalia Silva 8. Jasmine Jasudavicius 9. Manon Fiorot 10. Raquel Pennington ERIC JACKMAN MEN 1. Islam Makhachev 2. Ilia Topuria 3. Merab Dvalishvili 4. Khamzat Chimaev 5. Dricus du Plessis 6. Alexandre Pantoja 7. Tom Aspinall 8. Magomed Ankalaev 9. Jack Della Maddalena 10. Arman Tsarukyan Advertisement WOMEN 1. Zhang Weili 2. Valentina Shevchenko 3. Kayla Harrison 4. Cris Cyborg 5. Virna Jandiroba 6. Natalia Silva 7. Larissa Pacheco 8. Jasmine Jasudavicius 9. Dakota Ditcheva 10. Manon Fiorot CHUCK MINDENHALL MEN 1. Islam Makhachev 2. Merab Dvalishvili 3. Ilia Topuria 4. Tom Aspinall 5. Jon Jones 6. Magomed Ankalaev 7. Dricus du Plessis 8. Alexander Volkanovski 9. Jack Della Maddalena 10. Khamzat Chimaev WOMEN 1. Kayla Harrison 2. Zhang Weili 3. Valentina Shevchenko 4. Cris Cyborg 5. Dakota Ditcheva 6. Manon Fiorot 7. Virna Jandiroba 8. Natalia Silva 9. Jasmine Jasudavicius 10. Erin Blanchfield DRAKE RIGGS MEN 1. Islam Makhachev Advertisement 2. Merab Dvalishvili 3. Ilia Topuria 4. Alexandre Pantoja 5. Dricus du Plessis 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Francis Ngannou 8. Jon Jones 9. Magomed Ankalaev 10. Jack Della Maddalena WOMEN 1. Zhang Weili 2. Seika Izawa 3. Valentina Shevchenko 4. Cris Cyborg 5. Kayla Harrison 6. Natalia Silva 7. Virna Jandiroba 8. 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Yahoo
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Murray open to coaching return 'at some stage'
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"I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time. Advertisement "You also learn a lot about how to work with a team. As an individual athlete, you have a team of people around you, but you're the focal point whereas when you're coaching an individual, you're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick. That was the thing I learned and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future. "It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court. Results weren't as we wanted but we gave it a go. "We'll see about coaching in the future but I don't think that will happen for a while." Murray coached Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open and three other tournaments [Getty Images] 'Men's tennis is in a great place' While the jam-packed nature of tennis' schedule means focus has already shifted to the grass-court swing, this year's men's singles final at Roland Garros will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Advertisement Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down and saved three championship points to beat world number one Jannik Sinner after five hours and 29 minutes – the longest French Open final in history. The pair, who occupy the top two spots in the ATP rankings, have now shared the past six major titles between them and Sunday's final – their first meeting in a Grand Slam trophy match – confirmed the arrival of a new blockbuster rivalry in men's tennis. Murray believes Sunday's final is confirmation the sport is in a "great place" and tipped Britain's Jack Draper, ranked fourth in the world, to be part of the success. "They're both brilliant athletes and very different personalities, which I think for fans is really exciting," Murray said. Advertisement "For me, particularly Alcaraz has an exciting brand of tennis to watch, and they complement each other well. They've already had some brilliant matches and from what I've been told, it was one of the best finals for a long time." "Moving forward, men's tennis is in a great place. People always worry at the end of a generation of players what's going to happen with the sport next, but generally sports continue to evolve and, in most cases, improve. "Jack [Draper]'s right in the mix just now and doing extremely well. He's going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, 10 years." However, while heaping praise on the next generation, Murray was keen to emphasise that Alcaraz and Sinner have a long way to go to match the 20 years of dominance achieved by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Advertisement "The sport's in a really good place but it's important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done," he added. "Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional and it's easy in today's age to forget a little bit about that. I saw some pundits saying if [Alcaraz and Sinner] went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favourites going into that match with Rafa in his prime. "Alcaraz and Sinner are on the path to being two of the best, no doubt about that, but it takes time to build what Roger, Rafa, and Novak had. We'll see whether they get that." 'Queen's is always special for me' Murray won the last of his five Queen's singles titles in 2016 [Getty Images] Murray is synonymous with Queen's. The Scot is the most successful player in the tournament's history, winning a record five men's singles titles between 2009 and 2016. He also won the men's doubles with Feliciano Lopez in 2019. Advertisement From this year, however, his name will not just adorn the honour's board but also the centre court at Queen's Club, which has been renamed the Andy Murray Arena. "It's pretty surreal," he said. "A number of tennis courts around the world are named after great players. It's a bit strange to have a court named after you. "I have a lot of amazing memories at this place and on that court. It's by far my most successful tournament that I competed in. "I won my first ATP match here. I didn't dream of winning Wimbledon or being world number one, I just wanted to be a professional tennis player and play on the ATP tour. Moments like that, you remember; it was a special moment for me. Advertisement "Winning the tournament feels great and winning major events is the pinnacle of the sport but that wasn't my dream growing up. You remember moments like the place where you won your first tour match and that's why Queen's is always special to me." This grass-court season marks the return of women's tennis to Queen's for the first time in 52 years, with singles and doubles events taking place from 9 to 15 June before the men take to the courts the following week (16-22 June). "Having women's tennis back at Queen's for the first time in over 50 years is brilliant," Murray said. "I hope the event gets well attended. They've got a brilliant field – I think 10 of the top 20 women are here. There'll be some brilliant matches and I always look forward to the grass season." Advertisement
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Simone Biles doesn't realize what she's admitting about trans women in her posts, Riley Gaines says
Riley Gaines pointed out a discrepancy in Simone Biles' personal attack on her as she called for the possibility of a third category for transgender athletes to compete in. Gaines broke down the social media post aimed at her from Biles in a recent episode of OutKick's "Gaines for Girls" podcast. The former NCAA All-American swimmer specifically talked about the Olympic gymnast, imploring her to create a "new avenue where trans feel safe in sports" and offering the idea of a "transgender category in all sports." "I don't think she realizes in that one sentence she's admitting that these people who say 'they are transgender women' are really just men," Gaines said. "She's admitting that by saying we should have a third category. I hope she realizes that. "Secondly, this has been done several times now. FINA (now known as World Aquatics), which is the international governing body of swimming, they were very quick to do this. Following the national championships, they did create a third category, even at the international, really high-level meets – to which they said we welcome all who are non-binary, gender non-conforming, those who identify as transgender, this is a category for you." World Aquatics developed the open category for transgender athletes who were barred from competing against the gender they identify as. Lia Thomas challenged the organization's rule change and lost in the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year. Additionally, World Aquatics was forced to scrap its open category race in the 2023 Berlin Swimming World Cup due to lack of interest. "This compromise that you're trying to make, don't come to me with it," Gaines said. "You should go to the other side and see how they feel about this compromise, because it's a compromise that they are not willing to make." Thomas won an NCAA championship in 2022. Nearly three years later, the NCAA changed its gender-participation policy in an attempt to align with President Donald Trump's "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
