Tobi Amusan of Nigeria is one of the contenders for the title of Women’s World Athlete of the Year. Amusan is joined on the list by sprinter Shelley-Anne Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin of the United States, triple jump world record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela, and Kimberly Garcia of Peru.
This year, Tobi Amusan dominated the women’s 100-meter hurdles, setting a world record of 12.12 seconds in the semifinals of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July, and winning the gold medal in the final.
The 25-year-old is also the reigning African, Commonwealth, and Diamond League 100-meter hurdles champion. As she consolidated her position as the greatest female sprinter of all time, Fraser-Pryce won a record fifth world 100m gold.
At the Diamond League in Monaco, the 35-year-old Jamaican also ran the fourth-fastest women’s 100-meter time in history in 10.62 seconds during a season that saw a record seven sub-10.70 marks.
Garcia’s victory in the 20-kilometer race walk gave Peru its first-ever World Championship medal. In addition to winning the 35 km race and becoming a two-time world champion, the 29-year-old set a South American record in the process. In winning the 400-meter hurdles gold medal in a time of 50.68 seconds, American McLaughlin broke her own world mark.
With her achievement, the 23-year-old cut over three-quarters of a second off her previous best time at a competition where she also won gold in the 4x400m. At the March World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Rojas won the gold medal in the triple jump by setting a new world record of 15.74 meters.
The 27-year-old Venezuelan later won gold in the competition in Eugene, Oregon, for his third consecutive outdoor world championship.
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