UPSC Prelims 2021 Q98: Laureus World Sports Award — Explained
Consider the following statements in respect of the Laureus World Sports Award which was instituted in the year 2000:
1. American golfer Tiger Woods was the first winner of this award.
2. The award was received mostly by 'Formula One' players so far.
3. Roger Federer received this award maximum number of times compared to others.
Which of the above statements are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — The first Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony was held in Monte Carlo in 2000. Tiger Woods, the American golfer, was named the first Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. He won the award again in 2001.
- 2: incorrect — Up to the 2021 ceremony, Formula One drivers had won the Sportsman of the Year award only four times: Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004, Sebastian Vettel in 2014, and Lewis Hamilton in 2020 (shared with Lionel Messi). Tennis players won it 11 times, through Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. Usain Bolt alone won it four times, as many as all F1 drivers together. Tennis, not Formula One, has the most wins.
- 3: correct — Roger Federer won Sportsman of the Year five times: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2018. When the question was set in 2021, that was the record; Novak Djokovic had four. Federer also won Comeback of the Year in 2018, so he has six Laureus awards in all, the most of any athlete. Djokovic won his fifth Sportsman award in 2024, so the two are now level in that category.
How to eliminate
This question needs some sports general knowledge. One fact narrows it down: Roger Federer dominated the award in the mid-2000s, winning four in a row from 2005 to 2008. If you are sure of Statement 3, only the options containing 3 are left, and the choice is between keeping or dropping Statement 2. Statement 2 is a sweeping claim ('mostly' Formula One). Tennis has produced the most famous multiple winners (Federer, Djokovic, Nadal), and the award is open to every sport. So 'mostly Formula One' is very unlikely, and you can drop it. Statement 1 can then be accepted, both because of how the options are built and because Woods was the world's top sportsman in 1999–2000. Facts to remember: first winner Tiger Woods (2000); most wins Federer, five (now tied with Djokovic); tennis has won the award far more often than any other sport.
Know more
Laureus World Sports Awards are annual awards given by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a panel of retired sporting greats who vote on the winners. The first ceremony was held in Monte Carlo in 2000. At that ceremony, Nelson Mandela said that "sport has the power to change the world". The awards are linked to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which funds sport-based social programmes.
Main categories: Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Team of the Year, Breakthrough of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, Action Sportsperson of the Year, and Sport for Good. The top category is often called the "Oscars of sport".
Sportsman of the Year winners by sport, 2000–2021:
| Sport | Wins | Winners (years) |
|---|---|---|
| Tennis | 11 | Federer (2005–08, 2018), Djokovic (2012, 2015, 2016, 2019), Nadal (2011, 2021) |
| Athletics | 4 | Usain Bolt (2009, 2010, 2013, 2017) |
| Formula One | 4 | Schumacher (2002, 2004), Vettel (2014), Hamilton (2020, shared) |
| Golf | 2 | Tiger Woods (2000, 2001) |
| Football | 1 | Messi (2020, shared) |
| Cycling | 1 | Lance Armstrong (2003, later withdrawn after his doping admission) |
Later winners: Verstappen (2022, F1), Messi (2023), Djokovic (2024, his fifth, tying Federer), Mondo Duplantis (2025) and Carlos Alcaraz (2026).
India connection: In 2020, Sachin Tendulkar won the one-off Laureus Sporting Moment 2000–2020 award, chosen by public vote. It was for being carried around the Wankhede Stadium after India won the 2011 World Cup. He was the first Indian to win a Laureus award.
In the news
The Laureus awards were in the news in 2020–21. In February 2020, Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus Sporting Moment 2000–2020, and Hamilton and Messi shared the top award, the first tie for it. The May 2021 ceremony, where Rafael Nadal was Sportsman of the Year, came a few months before the October 2021 Prelims.