Katie Ledecky Finalist for Laureus World Sports Awards 2026
American swimmer Katie Ledecky has been named a finalist for Laureus Woman Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2026 on Tuesday.
Ledecky is the only swimmer named a finalist for the male and female Sportsperson of the Year awards. Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi was nominated for Breakthrough of the Year.
Brazilian Gabriel Araujo, Simone Barlaam of Italy and Czechia’s David Kratochvil were named finalists for the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
The nominees were voted on by 1,300 members in the Laureus Global Media Panel, with the International Paralympic Committee selecting nominees for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. Winners in each of eight categories – which include Team of the Year, Comeback of the Year, World Action Sportsperson of the Year and the Sport for Good Award – are voted on my members of the Laureus World Sports Academy and announced at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2026 gala in Madrid.
Ledecky in 2025 won gold medals in the 800 freestyle and 1,500 freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. She added silver in the 800 free relay and bronze in the 400 free. She is a 23-time World Champion and 30-time medalist at the meet, to go with nine career gold and 14 career total medals at the Olympics. She has the most career Olympic gold medals for any woman and is third all-time among summer and winter Olympians.
Yu made her leap onto the world stage this summer in Singapore before her 13th birthday. She won her first major medal with bronze in the 800 freestyle relay. She finished fourth in three individual events: The 200 individual medley (.06 off the podium), the 200 butterfly (.31 seconds shy of a medal) and the 400 IM (.50 seconds shy of a tie for silver.)
Araujo, 23, is a star in the S2 classification. He is a five-time Paralympic gold medalist and six-time total medalist. At the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore this year, he won the S2 100 back, 200 free and 50 back.
Barlaam, 25, won gold medals at Worlds in the S9 100 fly, 50 free, 100 free and 400 free. The Italian is an eight-time Paralympic gold medalist and eight-time total medalist at the Paralympic Games. He is a 21-time world champion.
Kratochvil, who turned 18 last October, won seven medals at the World Championships in Singapore. He won golds in four – the S11 50 free, 100 fly, 100 free and 500 free – plus silver in the 100 back and bronze in the SB11 100 breast and SM11 200 IM.