Nigeria’s star athlete and the current World, Commonwealth, and African champion in the 100 m hurdles, Tobi Amusan has been nominated for the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year award, just as PSG’s stars Frenchman Kylian Mbappe and Argentine World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi will battle yet again in the Sportsman of the Year Award.
Last year, Amusan became the first ever Nigerian world champion and world record holder in an athletics event when she won the 2022 World Championships 100 m hurdles gold medal, setting the current world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-final, followed up by a wind-assisted 12.06 s in the final.
The 25-year-old who has won back-to-back Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 in the 100 m hurdles, will face stiff competition from tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) and
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan); American duo of Nathan Chen (Figure skating) and Scottie Scheffler (Golf) as well as the Morocco men’s football team that became the first African side to reach the semi-final of FIFA World Cup at Qatar 2022 World Cup.
There would also be a huge football interest in the Sportsman of the Year Award with PSG’s forwards Messi and Mbappe in a pool of other superstars including American basketballer Steph Curry; Swede’s athletics sensation Armand Duplantis, tennis great Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Dutch Formula 1 2021 and 2022 World Champions, Max Verstappen.
Established in 1999, 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.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
