The Laureus Spirit of Sport Award is an award honouring "those individual athletes or teams who, through their remarkable success, their refusal to accept defeat or their unquestionable contribution to the enjoyment of the game".
It was first awarded in 2005 as one of the discretionary awards presented during the
Laureus World Sports Awards
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...
.
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.
The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
, at which
Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech. The recipient is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by
Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world. Although the Laureus Awards ceremony is held annually, the Spirit of Sport 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.
[ Since its establishment, no award has been made six times, in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2020.
The inaugural winner of the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award in 2005 was the American ]baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
team Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
who won their first World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
for 86 years in the 2004 Major League Baseball season. , five teams and four individuals have received the award. One of these individuals was honoured posthumously: Dutch former footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
won the accolade in 2016, having died the previous month; his award was presented to his son Jordi Cruyff
Johan Jordi Cruijff (anglicised to Cruyff; born 9 February 1974) is a football coach and former player. He is the son of former player and manager Johan Cruyff.
As a footballer, Cruyff played from 1992 through to 2010, including periods with ...
by fellow Dutchman Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...
at the ceremony in Berlin.[ the most recent recipient of the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was the American ]alpine skier
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three ...
in 2019.[
]
Recipients
References
{{featured list
Spirit of Sport Award
Awards established in 2005