Nigerian record-breaking athlete, Tobi Amusan has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards which makes her the first Nigerian woman to be so honoured.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year.
Tobi Amusan was nominated in the category of Laureus World Breakthrough Of The Year alongside the Morocco Men’s Football Team and a host of others.
The recipients of the Laureus awards will be revealed between March and May 2023.
All categories, except one for which the International Paralympic Committee’s specialists selected the shortlist, were decided upon by over 1,400 members of the Laureus Global Media Nominations Panel.
Why Was Tobi Amusan Nominated?
Tobi Amusan had a great year in 2022. The 25-year-old Nigerian athlete set the current world record of 12.12 seconds in the semifinals and ran a wind-assisted 12.06 seconds in the final to win the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon. This made him the first Nigerian to win a world championship in an athletics event.
She won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before successfully defending her Diamond League Trophy in Zurich with a new meet record time of 12.29 seconds. The previous record belonged to American great Gail Devers, and it stood for 22 years.
All these achievements in the last 12 months earned Amusan Laureus Sports Awards. She is now the first Nigerian woman to be nominated for the award.