* Messi, Mbappe, Nadal also listed
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.
Meanwhile, England’s Lionesses have been nominated for Laureus World Team of the Year following their Euro 2022 triumph.
Sarina Wiegman’s side won the Women’s European Championship by beating Germany 2-1 after extra time in July.
It was England’s first major football trophy since the men’s team won the 1966 World Cup.
The Lionesses face competition from men’s World Cup champions Argentina and Champions League winners Real Madrid for the award.
France’s men’s rugby team, NBA side the Golden State Warriors and Formula 1 world champions Red Bull are also nominated.
“We’re really honoured that we are nominated, especially for such a prestigious award,” Wiegman said in an interview with the BBC. “We’ve been seen everywhere over the world, for what we’ve done, and that’s just really nice to be acknowledged.”
The 2023 winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony later this year.
Laureus Awards’ list of nominees
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Steph Curry (USA) – Basketball
Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – Athletics
Kylian Mbappe (France) – Football
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Football
Rafael Nadal (Spain) – Tennis
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) – Formula 1
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) – Athletics
Katie Ledecky (USA) – Swimming
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – Athletics
Alexia Putellas (Spain) – Football
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – Alpine skiing
Iga Swiatek (Poland) – Tennis
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Argentina men’s football team
England women’s football team
France men’s rugby team
Golden State Warriors (USA) – Basketball
Red Bull Racing Formula 1
Real Madrid (Spain) – Football
BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) – Tennis
Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) – Athletics
Nathan Chen (USA) – Figure skating
Morocco men’s football team
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) – Tennis
Scottie Scheffler (USA) – Golf
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) – MotoGP
Christian Eriksen (Denmark) – Football
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – Athletics
Klay Thompson (USA) – Basketball
Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) – Cycling
Tiger Woods (USA) – Golf
SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY
Diede de Groot (Netherlands) – Wheelchair tennis
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) – Para-athletics
Declan Farmer (USA) – Para-ice hockey
Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) – Para-swimming and wheelchair rugby
Oksana Masters (USA) – Para-cross-country skiing
Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) – Para-alpine skiing
WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
Justine Dupont (France) – Big wave surfing
Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) – Surfing
Eileen Gu (China) – Freestyle skiing
Chloe Kim (USA) – Snowboarding
Rayssa Leal (Brazil) – Skateboarding
Filipe Toledo (Brazil) – Surfing
SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD
Boxgirls (Kenya) – Boxing
High Five (Germany) – Action sports
Made For More (South Africa) – Multi-sport
Slum Soccer (India) – Football
TeamUp – Support for refugee children