Olympic-bound 14-year-old skateboarding sensation Alisa Trueux has become the only Australian to win the honor at world sport's biggest awards ceremony.
While Novak Djokovic and Aitana Bommati were hailed as the world's best athlete and athlete of the year at the Laureus Awards on Monday (Tuesday Australian Eastern Time), the Gold Coast youngster won the annual award at a lavish awards ceremony in Madrid. I was thrilled to be chosen as the Best Action Sports Athlete.
True was praised for her pioneering feat last year when she became the first female skater to land 720 revolutions (two in the air) in competition at just 13 years old.
She nailed the feat, which was first performed by American skater great Tony Hawk at his event in 1985. He was there to applaud True as she made history.
The young Queenslander has since become the first woman in X Games history to win a Park and Bart double, and is firmly on track to don the green and gold at the Paris Olympics later this year.
“It's a really big accomplishment for me because I never thought I'd be here,” said True, who made waves on Monday by arriving at the ceremony with a skateboard on the red carpet.
“He's one of my idols and I was really happy when I landed it in front of him, because he invented the trick.”
Other stars on the show included Women's World Cup winner Bommatti, who was recognized as the standout player during Spain's victory in Australia in 2023. She also won the Team of the Year award on behalf of her colleagues.
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady handed Djokovic his fifth Laureus Trophy, which will be awarded in the 2023 season to commemorate the world's No. 1 tennis player. The Serbian won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, reached the Wimbledon final and equaled Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Gymnast Simone Biles won Comeback of the Year after winning four gold medals at last year's World Championships, her first international competition since competing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham was the winner of that year's World Breakthrough after a brilliant season with Real Madrid, becoming the first footballer to earn that honor.
Nominees for the Laureus Awards were selected by the world's media and winners were determined by 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. It has been published since 2000.
