Athletics sensation, Tobi Amusan has been nominated in the category of World Breakthrough of the Year for the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.
The 25-year-old made global headlines when she broke the 100 metres hurdles world record in a time of 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon.
Amusan’s recognition has since soared both locally and internationally as she recorded further success at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she won gold as well the Diamond League in Zurich where she defended her crown from 2021.
The Ijebu-Ode native is nominated alongside Spanish tennis Carlos Alcaraz, who won his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open which propelled him to number one in the ATP rankings. Another tennis player in Kazakh Elena Rybakina is on the list following her maiden Grand Slam triumph at Wimbledon. The Morocco national team where also nominated after breaking Africa’s quarter-final jinx at the FIFA World Cup and ultimately finished fourth.
The American duo of Scottie Scheffler and Nathan Chen are the final nominees after their exploits in golf (Masters win) and figure skating (world record in short programme) respectively.
🤩 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 pic.twitter.com/TkbSj8RRfR
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) February 20, 2023
In other categories, Paris Saint-Germain duo Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, tennis maestro Rafael Nadal and Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen are among the nominees for the World Sportsman of the Year.
For the World Sportswoman of the Year, the nominees include Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, American 400 metres hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Barcelona Femeni midfielder Alexia Putellas.
In the category of World Comeback of the Year, some of the high profile names include Danish footballer Christian Eriksen who returned to the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest while on international duty at the Euro 2020 tournament. American Golfer Tiger Woods was also nominated after returning to the golf course following a horrific car cash in 2021.
Another notable category is the World Team of the Year and the 2023 list contains the Argentina national team who won their first World Cup in 36 years, the England women’s national team for winning the European Women’s Championship , Real Madrid after winning the La Liga and UEFA Champions League, the Golden State Warriors for a seventh NBA title and Red Bull Racing for ending Mercedes’ eight-year hold of the Formula 1 Constructor’s Championship.
