Alexia Putellas nominated for Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year

The Laureus Awards have published their shortlist of six candidates for the World Sportswoman of the Year award and blaugrana captain Alexia Putellas is amongst the names announced. Still recovering from the serious knee injury she suffered last summer, the Catalan midfielder has the chance to add yet another prestigious award to her collection. 

First female footballer to take the award 

The Laureus awards stated that Alexia has been chosen for "leading FC Barcelona to a perfect season in the Spanish League" and also she is the only woman ever to win the Ballon d'Or award twice in a row. Alexia has also recently been nominated for the FIFA The Best Award which will be announced on 27 February and as a candidate for the FIFPRO XI team of the year. 

The Laureus awards are multi-discipline with Alexia's fellow candidates coming from the sports of tennis (Iga Swiatek), swimming (Katie Ledecky), skiiing (Mikaela Shiffrin) and track and field athletics (Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone). Should the Barça midfielder take the prize, she would be the first women footballer to do so.  

Six women who had a memorable 2022 

All the candidates had an outstanding year in 2022 in their respective fields. Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek won the French Open and US Open and set a record for being top of the WTA rankings. Swimmer Ledecky won four goal medals at the World Championships, taking her overall total to 23. 

US Skier Mikaela Shiffrin won the Overall World Cup title for the fourth time in 2022 to mark another successful season. Finally, track athletes Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also had a 2022 to remember. American McLaughlin-Levrone won the gold medal at the World Championships, setting a world record in the process whilst Jamaican sprinter Fraser-Pryce won the 100m at the World Championships to claim a fifth gold medal in the event. Alexia finds herself amongst exalted company as she aims to make history yet again at the Gala Awards ceremony whose date is yet to be announced.