Laureus Sports Awards: Robby Naish presents Kelly Slater with Lifetime Achievement Award
SURF Redaktion
· 22.04.2025
After four awards as Action Sportsman of the Year, Kelly Slater received the Laureus Sports Award for his lifetime achievement yesterday in Madrid. The GOAT ("Greatest of all times") received the award from the hands of another legend: Robby Naish, who, like Slater, dressed up in a dinner jacket for the ceremony.
"As a Laureus Academy member of 24 years, a surfer, and a friend, it was a true honor for me to present the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award to Kelly Slater at the Laureus World Sports Awards last night in Madrid, Spain", Robby wrote on Instagram, posting a few pictures of the evening. "Kelly’s career has been amazing, his impact on surfing unparalleled, and his influence on many peoples lives around the world immeasurable!" said Robby about the eleven-time world champion. Kelly Slater himself thanked everyone who had voted for him in a short video message.
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The nominations for the Laureus Sports Award are made by the sports media, with the 69 members of the Academy, including Robby Naish, then choosing the winners. Other well-known jurors include Boris Becker, Tony Hawk, Mark Spitz and Emerson Fittipaldi. In addition to Kelly Slater (2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012), surfers Layne Beachley (2004) and Stephanie Gilmore (2010) have also won the award in the Action Sports category. There have been a number of nominations from the windsurfing sector so far: Kevin Pritchard (2007), Antoine Albeau (2010), Victor Fernandez (2011) and Philip Köster (2012 & 2013).
"25 years after the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards were held in Monaco in 2000, this special anniversary edition of the greatest show in sports was also a celebration of the growth of Laureus as a unique sporting movement – encompassing the world-famous Awards and the year-round work of Laureus Sport for Good in over 40 countries" said a statement from the organisers.
