New Zealand's other academy member Sean Fitzpatrick attended the awards. He flew to Monaco after the Blues' Super 12 rugby loss to the Brumbies in Canberra last weekend.
A memorial match-racing yachting regatta was held off Monaco yesterday as a tribute to Sir Peter.
German driver Michael Schumacher won the Laureus world sportsman of the year award, three days after his controversial win in the Austrian motor racing grand prix which critics said undermined his sport's image.
The Formula One champion edged out golf's world No 1 Tiger Woods, winner for the last two years of "sports Oscars", who had completed a unique set of four grand slam titles with the 2001 US Masters.
Schumacher was at the centre of a major controversy last weekend when he won in Spielberg at the expense of his Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello, of Brazil.
Barrichello had led the race from the start but slowed in the final few metres, on team orders, to allow the four-times world champion and leader of this season's standings to win the race.
Schumacher's critics, including three-times world champion Jackie Stewart, said the tactic was against the spirit of the sport and added that the German was a big enough figure to ignore the team's instructions.
He now faces an investigation alongside Barrichello and his team by the sport's governing body FIA on June 26 in Paris into the incident.
Schumacher fought off three-times Tour de France cycling race winner Lance Armstrong, Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and American sprinter Maurice Greene to win the award.
He has completely dominated this season again, winning five out of six races so far and is heading towards a record-equalling fifth title.
Another grand prix driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, of Williams, won the Laureus newcomer of the year award.
Jennifer Capriati, French and Australian Open tennis champion, won the award for sportswoman of the year, beating off competition from compatriot Venus Williams, who won the other two grand slams last year, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Capriati, who last year won the comeback of the year award, was up against world champion Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn, American pole vaulter Stacy Dragila and Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam, as well as Venus Williams, for the women's title.
Goran Ivanisevic's amazing victory at Wimbledon in 2001 earned him the title of this year's world comeback of the year.
The Croatian, who had entered the tournament as a wildcard after dropping to 125th in the rankings, beat Australian Pat Rafter in a nailbiting final to clinch the title.
The Australian cricket team, who stretched their winning run of test matches to 16 last year, were named world team of the year.
In the remaining categories, Dutch wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer was voted world sportsperson of the year with a disability and Brazilian skateboarder Bob Burnquist won the alternative sportsperson of the year award.
A panel of 350 journalists selected the five finalists and the Laureus Sports Academy, which consists of 44 sporting greats, then voted on the winners.
NZPA and REUTERS
Peter Blake, 1948-2001
