| Venue: MediaCityUK, Salford Date: Tuesday, 19 December at 19:00 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app |
Voting has closed for the BBC Sports Personality’s World Sport Star of the Year 2023 award.
Six contenders were shortlisted for the award, which will be presented during the show live on BBC One on Tuesday, 19 December.
The 2022 World Sport Star award was won by Argentina footballer Lionel Messi.
Who are the World Sport Star contenders?
Simone Biles
Sport: Gymnastics Country: United States
Having taken a two-year break from gymnastics to work on her mental health, four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles returned to competition in style by winning four gold medals and a silver at October’s World Championships.
Her second gold – in the all-around – meant she became the most decorated gymnast in history. She ended the competition with a total of 37 Olympic and World Championship medals to surpass the previous mark of 33 held by Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo since the 1990s.
Biles, 26, also won her eighth US Gymnastics all-around title, breaking a 90-year-old record held by Alfred Jochim.
Aitana Bonmati
Sport: Football Country: Spain
Aitana Bonmati had a hugely successful year with both her club, Barcelona, and country.
The 25-year-old midfielder was named player of the tournament as Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time, scoring three goals during the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
With Barcelona, she won the 2022-23 Liga F title and the Champions League, in August she was crowned Uefa’s Player of the Year, and in October she lifted the Ballon d’Or.
Novak Djokovic
Sport: Tennis Country: Serbia
Novak Djokovic began another dominant year by winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, before success at the French Open secured him a 23rd major title – the most by any man. It also made him the first man in history to win each Grand Slam at least three times.
In September, the 36-year-old won the US Open to secure his 24th Grand Slam title, equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Outside of the Slams, he won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title and surpassed Steffi Graf’s mark for the most weeks spent as world number one, with his tally now more than 400.
Erling Haaland
Sport: Football Country: Norway
Erling Haaland’s goals helped Manchester City win the Treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the 2022-23 season.
The 23-year-old forward claimed the Premier League’s Golden Boot with a record 36 goals in 38 games across the campaign, and his 52 goals in all competitions is the most by a player at a Premier League club within a season.
Among a host of individual awards, Haaland was given the Gerd Muller Trophy for best goalscorer at the Ballon d’Or awards, where he also came second in the voting for best player. In November, he became the fastest man to score 50 Premier League goals, taking just 48 games to reach the milestone.
Siya Kolisi
Sport: Rugby Union Country: South Africa
Siya Kolisi led South Africa to a historic fourth Rugby World Cup title with a 12-11 victory over New Zealand in the final in October.
In doing so, he became only the second captain to lift the trophy at successive tournaments after All Blacks legend Richie McCaw.
The 32-year-old – the Springboks’ first black captain – only returned to the team during their World Cup warm-up campaign after sustaining a serious knee injury in April.
Max Verstappen
Sport: Formula 1 Country: Netherlands
Max Verstappen became a three-time Formula 1 world champion in a record-breaking season, retaining his title with six races still to go.
The 26-year-old ended the campaign with 19 wins from 22 races, giving him a win rate of 86.4% to beat the previous record of 75% set by Alberto Ascari in 1952.
Verstappen also became the first driver to lead more than 1,000 laps throughout a season, and also achieved the highest points total of all time (575) and the biggest winning margin in a drivers’ championship, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finishing 290 points behind him.
