KEHINDE FAJOBI
Nigerian sprinter Tobi Amusan has won Gold at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States, shattering the World Record in the 100 metre Hurdles.
Amusan first broke her own African Record in the heats, running 12.40s, the fastest time ever run at the 100mH heats of any World Athletics Championships.
She then broke the World Record record in the semi-final, running 12.12s.
In her best ever form for the final, Amusan powered her way over the Hurdles in 12.06s to win Nigeria’s first ever Gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
Her time of 12.06s in the final could not be counted as a World Record due to strong winds of over 2.5 meters per second.
Tobi Amusan is now the World Champion and World Record holder in the 100 metres Hurdles. She is also the first Nigerian athlete to break a World Record, first Nigerian to win Gold at the World Athletics Championships and first Nigerian 100mH World Champion.
“Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships,” Amusan said after her final victory.
“The goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis.
“Before the final, I just tried to stay calm and to do my best. I took a deep breath knowing that I have some goal to accomplish and it worked pretty good. I knew it was very fast but not this fast.”
As Nigeria’s national anthem was played at the World Athletics Championships for the first time ever, Amusan burst into tears singing along to the anthem.
For breaking the World Record, Amusan was awarded $100, 000.
Reacting to her new feat, she wrote on her Facebook page: “I’m SPEECHLESS!!!!
“Indeed OLUWATOBILOBA (God is a great King) 🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️🙇🏽♀️
Behold your new 100mh World Champion 12.06w 😭✨❤️🥇”.