Tobi Amusan, a Nigerian track and field athlete, has been nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award in 2023. Amusan was named one of five finalists in the Breakthrough of the Year category.
The 100m hurdles world record holder is the first Nigerian to be nominated for the award.
✨ Here are the six Nominees for the 2023 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award:
🎾 @carlosalcaraz
🎾 #ElenaRybakina
⚽️ @EnMaroc
⛸ @nathanwchen
🏌️♂️ #ScottieScheffler
👟 #TobiAmusan #Laureus23— Laureus (@LaureusSport) February 20, 2023
Tobi Amusan made history in 2022 when she became Nigeria’s first World Record (WR) holder in any track and field event, winning the 100m Hurdles semifinal race in 12.12 seconds at the World Championships in Oregon.
When she won the World title in the final, she became Nigeria’s first outdoor World Champion. She raced to an even faster time of 12.06s (2.6m/s).
Tobi Amusan’s blistering run of form continued as she added more Commonwealth and Diamond League titles to her collection. To successfully defend both titles, she raced to record-breaking times of 12.30s (Games Record) and 12.29s (Meeting Record).
The 25-year-old is the first Nigerian athlete to accomplish this feat.
See full list of the nominees below:
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Steph Curry (USA)
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
Katie Ledecky (USA)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
Alexia Putellas (Spain)
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
Iga Świątek (Poland)
LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Argentina Men’s Football Team
England Women’s Football Team
France Men’s Rugby Team
Golden State Warriors (USA)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria)
LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Tobi Amusan (Nigeria)
Nathan Chen (USA)
Morocco Men’s Football Team
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD
Diede de Groot (Netherlands)
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland)
Declan Farmer (USA)
Cameron Leslie (New Zealand)
Oksana Masters (USA)
Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway)
LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
Justine Dupont (France)
Stephanie Gilmore (Australia)
Eileen Gu (China)
Chloe Kim (USA)
Rayssa Leal (Brazil)
Filipe Toledo (Brazil)
LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD
Programmes shortlisted by a specialist selection panel; Laureus Academy select the Award recipient
Boxgirls (Kenya)
High Five (Germany)
Made For More (South Africa)
Slum Soccer (India)
TeamUp (Global)
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Photo Credit: Twitter/Laureus World Sports Awards