History was made during the week, when Nigerian athlete, Tobi Amusan, stormed to victory at the 100 metres hurdles final at the World Championships held in Eugene, United States, becoming the first athlete from Nigeria to win gold at such an event.
Amusan, 25, whose 12.06-second performance was initially announced as a world record, but was later ruled ineligible as the wind speed exceeded the legal limit. However, Amusan had broken the world record earlier in the day by clocking 12.12 seconds in the semi-final at Hayward Field.
Recovering from a slow start in the final, she put on a pristine performance over the barriers, beating the silver medalist, Britany Anderson of Jamaica with 0.17 seconds.
Amusan was reported to have “got off to a scorching start and was smoothly into her stride after the first hurdle, building a clear lead and then pulling away ahead of Anderson and the fast-closing Camacho-Quinn for the gold.”
According to the golden girl, who was treated to Nigeria’s trending hit song, Buga, on victory, “The goal was to come out and to win this gold.
“I believe in my abilities, but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, the goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus.”
Tobi Amusan therefore become the first Nigerian ever to win gold at the World Athletics Championships after the classic performance, doing it in style and breaking two two records on the night as previously set by America’s Kendra Harrison’s at 12.20s.
Among the many firsts recorded by Amusan included becoming the first Nigerian athlete to ever set a World Record in any event. It will also be the first time the Nigerian anthem would be played over the public address system during medal presentation as the winner of an event.
In addition to the euphoria that heralded her feat, Amusan walked away with a whopping $100,000 prize money She is presently participating in the Commonwealth Games, which kicked off on Thursday, July 28 as the defending champion in her event.
Amusan’s victory is a clear lesson for all and sundry that there is no space for giving up on one’s goals and aspirations. It would be recalled that she had a disappointing outing in Tokyo in 2021 where she finished fourth in the final against expectations that she was going to pick one of the medals.
A Diamond League trophy winner, Amusan is also a Commonwealth Games champion and multiple African Champion. She is said to now has an eye on the Olympic Games medal to add to her impressive collection.
Born Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan on April 23, 1997 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, to school-teacher parents, Mr and Mrs. Amusan. Tobi, as she is fondly called, is the last of three siblings, and had her Secondary School Education at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
Amusan had shown signs of accomplishment as an athlete from a very tender age. She began her climb to glory when she won a silver medal at the 2013 African Youth Championships in Warri. She followed it up with a gold, which she claimed in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa. At the age of 18 in 2015, while making her All-Africa Games debut, she won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles.
She was the 2018 Commonwealth Champion in the 100m hurdles. She’s also the reigning African Champion in the event, winning back to back gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 African Championships in Athletics and is also a two-time African Games champion in the event. She won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2021 in the 100m hurdles becoming the first Nigerian to do so, also breaking the then African Record held by Glory Alozie.
Today, Amusan is the biggest news in Nigeria as well as the country biggest sports export, having achieved feat no Nigerian athlete has ever achieved.
She is just 25, and it’s believed that her focus and steadfastness will propel her to breaking and setting more records for Nigeria. Her feat, without mincing, provided something all Nigerians could agree on for once, and created a happy deviation from the gory insecurity ravaging the nation presently.
We, at the Boss, identify with Tobi’s great feat, and wish her many more years of conquering the world.
Congratulations!
Ebenezer Obey’s Son Dies @48, Buried
Why the National Assembly is Tired of Buhari
