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Another prestigious nomination for Tobi Amusan, as she becomes the first Nigerian sportswoman to be nominated for the Laureus Sports Awards.
Nigeria's Tobi Amusan keeps making and entering the history books, as the 100m Hurdles athlete has been nominated alongside five others for the Laureus sports award in the Breakthrough of the Year category.
Her nomination means she's the first Nigerian sportswoman to be nominated for the greatest sports award in the world, after Vitalis Lanshima was nominated in the Sportsperson with a Disability category in 2004, which he lost to a Canadian.
The prestigious award was first held in 2000, honours the greatest and most inspirational sporting triumphs of the year, and showcases the work of Laureus Sport for good.
Last year, Amusan became Nigeria's first World Record (WR) holder in any track and field event, after racing to an exceptional 12.12s to win her 100m Hurdles semifinal race at the World Championships in Oregon.
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She then became Nigeria's first World Champion outdoors by winning the World title in the final, clocking another massive time of 12.06s (2.6m/s). It would have been a new WR as well, but for the excessive wind reading which made it illegal.
Less than two weeks after Oregon, Amusan added Commonwealth and Diamond League titles, clocking record-breaking times of 12.30s (Games Record) and 12.29s (Meeting Record) to successfully defend both titles, making her the first Nigerian athlete in history to achieve such a feat.
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Her outstanding performances and iconic feats last year have seen her give the sport a significant facelift in her country and globally, as she's now one of the most influential sportspeople in Africa.
Other sports personalities nominated for the Breakthrough of the Year category
Carlos Alcaraz
The Spanish Tennis player ended the year 2022 as the No. 1 tennis player in the world, winning the US Open title, thereby becoming the youngest ever men's World No. 1 at 19 years, and the first teenager in the Open Era to top the men's rankings.
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Elena Rybakina
The Kazakhstan tennis player became the first woman from her country to win a Grand Slam after winning the 2022 Wimbledon title.
She is also the first to be ranked in the world's top 10, with a career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and the current Kazakhstani No. 1 player in women's singles.
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This year, she got to the finals of the Australian Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka
Morocco Men's Football Team
The senior men's Morocco football team became the first African side in history to reach the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar.
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Though they lost the semifinal to France, the eventual runner-ups, and third place match to Croatia, their inspirational outing in Qatar brought significant joy and pride to the African and Arab world.
Nathan Chen
Regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time, Chen has the highest winning percentage in competitions in the modern era, with the longest win streak in history from 2018-2021.
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He is the 2022 Olympic Champion, and was named the Most Valuable Skater at the 2023 edition of the ISU Skating Awards. He also appeared on the respected Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
Scottie Scheffler
He is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has been the World No.1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and won the 2022 Masters Tournament.
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In September 2022, Scheffler was named 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year, earning the Jack Nicklaus Award for the first time.
Voting procedure
There are shortlists for seven categories which are Sportswoman, Sportsman, Team, Breaakthrough, Comeback, Action and Sport for Good, are created by votes from more than 1,000 sports media from over 70 countries. The shortlist for World Athlete of the Year with a Disability is provided by the International Paralympic Committee.
The Laureus World Sports Academy (a unique group of sporting legends) votes for the winners in each shortlisted category and The Academy also has the ability to grant discretionary awards, such as the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award.
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