Nigeria’s Amusan Wins 100m Hurdles Gold, Sets New Record

Tobi Amusan has become the first Nigerian athlete to win a World Athletics Championship gold storming to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles in Oregon, United States on Sunday.

Amusan, who had obliterated the world record in an astonishing semi-final where she clocked 12.12 seconds, powered over the line at Hayward Field in 12.06 seconds. However, her winning time will not be recognized as a world record due to a strong following win of 2.5 metres per second.

Jamaica’s Britany Anderson took silver in 12.23 seconds, while Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico claimed bronze in 12.23 seconds.

Amusan had produced a stunning jaw-dropping world record in the semi-finals, smashing the previous best mark of 12.20 seconds held by Keni Harrison of the United States in 2016. “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 do my best. I took a deep breath knowing that I have some goals to accomplish and it worked pretty well. I knew it was very fast but not this fast”, she said

Harrison had been left in Amusan’s slipstream in the semi and was again shown a clean pair of heels by the Nigerian in the final. Amusan 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.

Three years ago, the Nigerian finished fourth at the World Championships in Doha. Her form only improved from there, and she posted a personal best of 12.41 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris in June before traveling to Eugene for the World Championships. Here her times began to get faster.

She topped that PB by .01 in the qualifying rounds on Saturday, breaking the African record in the process, before breaking the world record in the semifinal and running the wind-aided 12.06 in the final.

In the final, Amusan accelerated ahead of the field after clearing the sixth hurdle. She held off Jamaica’s Britany Anderson and Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, both of whom were officially timed at 12.23 but separated in a photo finish by five-thousandths of a second. – AFP