On 24 July 2022, in Eugene, Oregon, Tobi Amusan ran the 100 metres hurdles semi-final in 12.12 seconds. It was a world record. Two hours later, she won the final.
Oluwatobiloba Amusan was born in 1997 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. She showed talent as a young athlete and won a scholarship to the University of Texas at El Paso, where she developed as a hurdler.
Rise
Amusan won the African Games title in 2015 and the Commonwealth Games title in 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. She reached the Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021, finishing fourth, just missing a medal.
The record
At the 2022 World Championships, Amusan ran 12.12 seconds in the semi-final, breaking the world record of 12.20 set by Kendra Harrison of the United States in London in 2016. In the final, she won in 12.06, but a strong tailwind above the legal limit meant the time did not count as a record.
She became Nigeria’s first world champion in athletics, a historic moment for a country with a rich tradition of sprinters and hurdlers.
A tradition
Nigeria has a long line of women hurdlers and sprinters. Glory Alozie won silver in the 100 metres hurdles at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and Blessing Okagbare won Olympic and world medals in the long jump and sprints. Amusan took that tradition further than anyone before her.
More titles
Amusan also won the Commonwealth Games title again in Birmingham in 2022, and the Diamond League final titles, confirming her place among the best hurdlers in the world.
Controversy
In 2023, Amusan faced a charge of missing three doping tests within a year, known as whereabouts failures. An independent tribunal cleared her, allowing her to compete at the 2023 World Championships. She never failed a drug test.
Paris 2024
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Amusan did not reach the final, a disappointment after her previous results.
Nigeria
Amusan’s success drew attention to Nigerian athletics and to the challenges athletes face, including funding and administration. She has become a role model for young Nigerian athletes, especially girls.
Legacy
Nigeria has produced many great sprinters, but Amusan’s world title and record put her in a category of her own.
She ran 12.12 seconds in a semi-final, then went back out and won the gold. It was the fastest afternoon in the history of her event.
