Vote Amusan World Best Athlete, AFN Boss Urges Nigerians

President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa has called on Nigerians to massively vote for Tobi Amusan as she bids to become the first Nigerian to be named World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics (WA).

Amusan is among the 10 nominees revealed on Wednesday by World Athletics who are vying for the biggest athletics award in the world.

Okowa believes Amusan is not only deserving of the nomination but also deserves to be crowned the best in the world 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,’ says Okowa.

‘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.

‘It’s a three-way voting process that will determine the chances of Tobi and our votes will contribute a quarter of the total votes needed,’ Okowa said.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.

Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; a ‘like’ on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.

Amusan made history in July when she became the first Nigerian to set a World record following the 12.12s she ran at the semifinals of the 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA.