Tobi Amusan, a star in the 100-meter hurdles for Nigeria, has been nominated for the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.
On February 20th, this was announced on the Laureus Twitter account.
Amusan is one of six candidates shortlisted for the Global Breakthrough of the Year award.
Tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina, Atlas Lions of Morocco, who advanced to the World Cup semifinals in Qatar in 2022, American figure skater Nathan Chen, and American professional golfer Scott Scheffler are the other nominees in this category.
Read Also:Amusan Tops Lists of Women’s World Athletics Award Finalists
Amusan’s impressive performance on the track in 2022 is not unrelated to her nomination for the World Breakthrough of the Year award.
Amusan successfully defended her 100-meter hurdles championship at the African Championships in Mauritius in June 2022 with a time of 12.57 seconds.
After two consecutive fourth-place finishes, the 25-year-old entered the World Championships, which were held in Eugene, Oregon, in July as a medal contender.
She once more beat the African record in the heats with a timing of 12.40 seconds, beating it by 0.01 seconds.
Amusan became the first Nigerian to hold a world record in an athletics event when she broke the previous mark of 12.20 seconds established by American Kendra Harrison in the semi-final.
It was the biggest advancement for a 100 m hurdles world record in 42 years. She beat her previous mark once more in the championship race, finishing in 12.06 seconds (2.5 m/s wind assistance, not a valid world record), becoming the first Nigerian to win the world title at the World Athletics Championships.
Amusan successfully defended her title in the 100 m hurdles event in August at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, setting a new Games record with a time of 12.30 seconds. She also helped power Nigeria’s women’s
In same month, she participated in her specialty event at the Lausanne Diamond Race meet, where she placed second with a time of 12.60 seconds behind Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the current Olympic champion.
Amusan finished up her lengthy and fruitful 2022 season by winning the 100-meter hurdles race at the Zürich Diamond League championship with a time of 12.29 seconds and retaining her title.
She created a new meet record in the process of finishing in front of Tia Jones, Britany Anderson, and Camacho-Quinn, who placed 2-4.
As everything is going on, PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and 2022 World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi will compete for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
NBA great Stephen Curry, renowned tennis player Rafael Nadal, Formula 1 star Max Verstappen, and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis are the other competitors on the six-man shortlist.
Sportswoman of the Year, among others
Team of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year, Laureus Sport for Good Award, and World Comeback of the Year.
The Laureus World Sports Awards, which were first presented in 2000, recognize the best and most inspirational sporting victories of the year and highlight the efforts of Laureus Sport for Good.
71 Olympic champions and world record holders from the Laureus Global Sports Academy will choose the winners, who will be unveiled in the spring.