Nigeria’s Amusan breaks world record, wins 100m hurdles gold

Tobi Amusan, the Nigerian sprinter, has set a new world record in the women’s 100 meters hurdles as she dipped 12.12 seconds en route to winning the gold medal at the World Athletic Championship.

The 25-year-old became the first Nigerian to win a gold medal at the world championship with a spirited display in Eugene, Oregon, in the early hours of Monday.

It was a night of domination for the Nigerian as she retired Keni Harrison of USA world’s record of 12.20 from 2016 with 12.12 in the semi-final and crowned it up with a wind-aided 12.06 second in the final to crown the effort of a fruitful year.

Her winning time in the final will not be recognised as a world record, however, due to a strong following wind of 2.5 metres per second.

Jamaican Britany Anderson took silver, followed by Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.

Last year, Amusan also became the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League trophy when she finished first in the meets final in Zurich.

“Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships,” she said.

“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.”

Ese Brume also won the silver medal in the women’s long jump. She leaped to 7.02 metres to better her bronze medal finish in the 2019 World Championship.