Nigeria’s Queen of the track: How she felt before the big win
Amusan on song
Tobi Amusan, Nigeria’s queen of the track and world beater has shared how she felt moments before she was due to run for gold.
“It was a strong field”, she told a reporter.
“I looked at the heat sheet”, Tobi continued, “I’m like, ‘Oh, who did that?’
“I spoke to my coach and she told me to relax and execute and I did just that. …
“I just said to myself that this is another round; I’m not going to pressure myself with my finals status.
“Knowing that I’m competing against the best in the world, I need to keep my composure and execute and focus on my lane, and I did just that.”
In one of the most competitively stacked fields in the entire World Athletics Championships, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan first set a world record, then followed it up by winning gold at Oregon.
Amusan won the first semifinal heat of the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 12.12 seconds Sunday at Hayward Field, topping American Kendra Harrison, the previous world record-holder, in the process.
Amusan, it is now known, shaved 0.08 seconds off Harrison’s world record from 2016.
Then in the final Sunday night, Amusan finished in a wind-aided 12.06 to win Nigeria’s first ever gold at the world championships against a field that included seven of the top 10 women in the world.
Amusan… It’s celebration time
Amusan’s record is the first ever by a Nigerian woman. It is equally the fourth time in the event’s history that the record was beaten in a heat or semifinal round.
The last time such a record was broken, it was 36 years ago.
The record breaker had finished fourth at both the Tokyo Olympics and 2019 world championships in Qatar while knocking on the door to be admitted into the big league.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Amusan said. “I’ve come into every championship coming in fourth. Coming out on top of the podium, it’s amazing.”