Para swimming star Yuyan Jiang wins 2025 Laureus Award

Chinese Para swimmer Yuyan Jiang won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award for a record-breaking year that saw her finish as the most successful athlete of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Eight months after winning seven Paralympic gold medals, Jiang attended an award ceremony in Madrid, Spain, on Monday, 21 April, to receive her first Laureus award. The Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award celebrates the remarkable achievements by a Para athlete in 2024, including at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

“I’m truly happy to be here today,” Jiang said. “I work hard every day, but I don’t do it alone. To my coach, my family, my team and my fans, you always inspire me, pushing me to chase my dreams. I’m grateful to have you on my side on this journey.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

Jiang won seven gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. @Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Laureus

Known as the Flying Fish, Jiang was unstoppable at La Defense Arena in Paris, claiming gold in the women’s 50m freestyle S6, 100m freestyle S7, 400m freestyle S6, 100m backstroke S6, 50m butterfly S6, as well as in the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay 20 points and the mixed 4x50m medley relay 20 points.

She also set two individual world records and was China’s flagbearer at the Closing Ceremony.

“When I was three, an accident took my right arm and my right leg,” she said. “It was swimming that truly shaped me. In the water, I could move freely.

“So, to anyone, who feels held back by a disability, I want to say, don’t let anyone – not even yourself – (put) a limit on what you can do. Chase your dreams because we are capable of so much more than we imagine.

Jiang became the first Para swimmer since Daniel Dias in 2016 to win the prestigious award. Dias, a 14-time Paralympic champion, holds the record for the most wins, having received the award three times (2009, 2013, 2016). South Africa’s Natalie du Toit also won the award in 2010.

Jiang, right, became the third Para swimmer to receive the prestigious award. @Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images for Laureus

Italian Paralympic star Bebe Vio, who won the award in 2017, was one of the presenters in Madrid.

“Being the winner of the Laureus Award Sport Person of the Year award means so much because it is a chance for us to be recognised by the greatest sport people around. For Paralympic athletes, 2024 was an historic year. We competed at the biggest Paralympics of all-time," Vio said on stage before she presented the award to Jiang.

The other finalists for this year’s Laureus awards were Swiss wheelchair racer Catherine Debrunner, Spanish Para swimmer Teresa Perales, Japanese wheelchair tennis player Tokito Oda, US Para archery athlete Matt Stutzman, and Chinese Para badminton player Qu Zimo.

Click here to read article