Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, a world record holder, and 10 other athletes have been nominated for the 2022 World Athlete of the Year Award.
Amusan and other candidates were named for the December award in a statement released yesterday by World Athletics’ Senior Media Relations Manager, Maggie Durand.
The Jamaican speed sensation Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, American Chase Ealey, Kimberly Garcia (Peru), Shericka Jackson (Jamaica), Faith Kipyegon (Kenya), and Shaunae Miller-Uibo will all compete against the Nigerian 100-meter hurdler (Bahrain).
When Amusan broke the World Record twice while his route to capturing the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles in July of this year, it garnered significant media attention throughout the world.
Amusan won a gold medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in England before adding the Diamond League gold medal in Zurich, just a few days after setting the world record for the 100-meter hurdles in 12.12 seconds at the World Championship in Oregon, United States.
Speaking about being nominated for the award yesterday, Amusan expressed her gratitude for being named one of the top 10 women in the world for the previous year.
“Through the grace of God, I have achieved so many ‘firsts by a Nigerian’ and this is yet another one.
“I am so honoured to be selected as a World Athlete of the Year Nominee and the first Nigerian ever to reach this height.
“I have twice been named Nigerian Athlete of the Year by the Athletic Heat platform but this is my first international nomination and I want us to win it,” the athlete wrote on her Facebook wall.
As Amusan competes to become the first Nigerian to be named World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics, AFN President Tonobok Okowa has urged Nigerians to cast a large number of votes for her.
Okowa thinks Amusan not only deserves the nomination but also deserves to be named the world’s best this year.
“2022 has been a very successful year for Nigerian athletes and Tobi is the icing on the cake of the incredible season we have had,” Okowa stated yesterday.
“The fact that Tobi was nominated is a positive development for us as a federation and a nation as no Nigerian athlete has ever made it to this level. Now we need to go a step further by playing our part to see that our darling Tobi is crowned the best in the world come December,” he added.
Voting for the World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on Monday, October 31. At the conclusion of the voting process, five women’s and five men’s finalists will be announced by World Athletics. The winners will be revealed on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December.
