The current World, Commonwealth and African 100m hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan has been nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards. The athlete is being nominated in the World Breakthrough of the Year category, in recognition of her sterling records in the athletics field.
Amusan was shortlisted in the category alongside five other contestants including tennis stars, Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina; semi-finalist at Qatar 2022 World Cup Atlas Lions of Morocco; American figure skater Nathan Chen; and American professional golfer Scott Scheffler. She is the first Nigerian athlete to be nominated for the prestigious Laureus Award.
Other sportsmen nominated for the award include Argentinian forward, Lionel Messi; PSG striker, Kylian Mbappe; NBA star, Stephen Curry; legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal; Formula 1 star, Max Verstappen; and Pole Vaulter, Mondo Duplantis.
In its announcement tweet, the organizers of the award described Amusan’s nomination to be in recognition of her breathtaking strides in the athletics field. “The first Nigerian world champion and world record holder in an athletics event, #Laureus23 World Breakthrough of the Year Award Nominee, @Evaglobal01 burst onto the scene in 2022 in breathtaking fashion.”
Amusan shattered records in global athletics when she became the first ever Nigerian world champion and world record holder in the100 m hurdles gold medal in the 2022 World Championships, setting the world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-final, followed up by a wind-assisted 12.06 s in the final. She also won the Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 in the 100 m hurdles category.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honoring individuals and teams from the world of sports in recognition of their sporting achievements. The awards support the work of Laureus Sport for Good, it aims to “use the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, and prove that sport has the power to change the world.”
The nominations would place Amusan in high chances of being immortalized as a sporting legend. The winners in the award categories would be decided by the membership of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which consists of Olympic champions, world record holders and iconic athletes.