American 400m hurdles star named female Athletes of the Year, by World Athletics on Monday, December 5, 2022.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who lowered her 400m hurdles world record twice this year, won the award for the first time. She became the first American to win Athlete of the Year since fellow 400m hurdler Dalilah Muhammad in 2019.
“I would describe 2022 for myself by just saying incredible,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “Everything that we aimed to do we was able to accomplish.”
The other finalists were Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who broke the 100m hurdles world record en route to the world title; Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won her fifth world 100m title; Peru’s Kimberly Garcia, who swept the 20km and 35km race walk world titles, and Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, who broke her triple jump world record and swept the indoor and outdoor world titles.
Amusan’s nomination came after a stellar performance at the Diamond League, Commonwealth Games, and World Athletics Championships in 2022.
She became the first Nigerian world champion after she clocked a wind-aided 12.06 seconds — ineligible as a world record because of +2.5 meters per second strong wind.
The 25-year-old sprinter consolidated her feat with a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games before retaining her Diamond League title to put a brilliant wrap on her season but unfortunately, she couldn’t get her hands on the Golden prize.
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