Tobi Amusan’s world record-breaking sprint at the just-concluded World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the United States, which saw her receive Nigeria’s first-ever World Championship gold.
Heading into the competition, the Nigerian hurdler held a personal best and African record of 12.41secs which she achieved in June.
She surpassed this feat on Saturday as she ran a new record heat time ever at a global championship, finishing her race with a time of 12.40secs. She then broke both the African record and global record twice again in the finals on Sunday, with a time of 12.12secs in the semi-final and 12.06secs in the final, beating the previous record of 12.20secs set by the USA’s Keni Harrison in 2016.
The University of Texas El Paso alumnus, who missed out on the podium in Tokyo last year, has now broken the African record five times in 10 months (12.42secs in Zurich, 12.41secs in Paris, 12.40secs, 12.12, and 12.06secs in Eugene).
In a congratulatory message on his Twitter handle, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, praised the worthy achievement:
“I sincerely congratulate Tobi Amusan on winning the 100M hurdles gold medal and setting a world record. Her tears at the ceremony podium while the Nigerian anthem played, connects that our dear country needs leaders to match the talents and ambitions of her youths.-PO” Obi tweeted.
