Okowa leads campaign to vote for Tobi Amusan

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan celebrates setting a world record in the women’s 100m hurdles final during the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 24, 2022. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, is leading the campaign for massive vote from Nigerians to aid Tobi Amusan’s dream of becoming the first Nigerian to be named World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics.

A statement by the Senior Media Relations Manager at World Athletics, Maggie Durand, to The Guardian, listed Amusan among the 10 nominees vying for the biggest athletics award in the world. The ceremony holds in December.

The Nigerian 100 metres hurdler will battle other top athletes, including Jamaica’s speed star, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, America’s Chase Ealey, Kimberly Garcia (Peru), Shericka Jackson (Jamaica), Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) and Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahrain).

Amusan made big headlines across the globe in July this year, when she broke the World Record twice on her way to winning the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles.

A few days after setting a world 100 metres hurdles record of 12.12 seconds at the World Championship at Oregon, United States, Amusan clinched a gold medal at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in England before adding the Diamond League gold medal in Zurich.

Amusan, born on April 23, 1997, is the African 100 metres hurdles champion. She had finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and was also a fourth-place finisher at the 2019 World Championships held in Doha, Qatar.

The Ogun State-born Amusan, who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as 2017 NCAA champion, could become the first Nigerian to win the World Athletics Athlete of the Year