Laureus Awards: Léon Marchand and Victor Wembanyama in the running for prestigious awards

The 25ᵉ anniversary ceremony, organized on April 21 in Madrid, could see two French athletes rewarded. Hero of the Olympic Games with four gold medals and as many Olympic records – without forgetting that in bronze during the 4x100m 4 Men’s Nages – Léon Marchand relay will try to succeed the Tennis player Novak Djokovic, sacred sportsman of the year Laureus in 2024.

The Toulouse swimmer will be opposed to the tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, winner of two Grand Chelem titles and adorned with an Olympic silver medal, to the world of pole Mondo Duplantis, multiple world record holder and Olympic champion, the Formula 1 Max Verstappen, who won a fourth consecutive title of world champion, Tadej Pogačar, who became the third man to make the triple crown by winning the Tour de France, the Giro of Italy and the world championships the same year.

The other Frenchie in the race for one of these prestigious trophies is Victor Wembanyama. The prodigy of French basketball is in the running for the revelation price of the year Laureus. Called first position for the NBA Draft in 2023, the San Antonio Spurs pivot quickly imposed its unique way of playing in the North American championship and was unanimously elected Rookie of the year. He also carried the French team to the silver medal of the Paris Games. He will notably compete with Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champion for the first time in his history, the young prodigy of swimming Summer McIntosh and Lamine Yamal, revelation of the Spanish team during Euro 2024.

Finally, the Paris Basket 18 women’s club is appointed for Laureus Sport for Good. A prize that “distinguishes a program embodying the vision of Nelson Mandela on the power of sport” and “rewards each year a community program which uses sport to transform the lives of young people”, according to the press release from Laureus World Sports Awards.