Inspired
Tobi Amusan is the Reigning Queen of 100m Hurdles!
There’s a saying that when someone does exceedingly well, they deserve their praise. Tobi Amusan has a heart full of champion’s spirit and has done exceedingly well. Over and over again, she has proved that she is not just a runner who runs swiftly, but who breaks records – even her own – and scoops medals. We call her the golden girl of 100m hurdles.
Here’s a rundown of her world championships so far:
At just 18, Tobi Amusan announced her arrival on the athletics scene with a double gold medal performance in 2015. She dominated the 100m hurdles at both the African Junior Athletics Championships in Ethiopia and the African Games in the Republic of Congo.
In 2018, Tobi made history as the first Nigerian to win gold in the Commonwealth Games in 100m hurdles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. She also won a bronze model in the 4x 100m relay with her teammates, Joy Udo-Gabriel, Blessing Okagbare and Rosemary Chukwuma.
Later in the same year, she won her first African Championship at the 2018 Asaba African Championship and a gold medal in the 4 × 100m relay.
In 2019, at her second African Games in Rabat, Morocco, Tobi blazed over the hurdles to win a gold medal in a record of 12.68 seconds.
In the same year, at the 2019 World Championship in Doha, Qatar, Tobi set a personal best in the 100m hurdles heats and semis but finished fourth in the final.
In 2021, she broke a 23-year-old African record by Glory Alozie, clocking 12.42 seconds to become the first Nigerian Diamond League champion at the Zurich Diamond League. This historic feat earned her the coveted diamond trophy and $30,000.00.
In June 2022, Tobi Amusan solidified her reign as the African 100m hurdles champion, retaining her title at the 22nd African Championships in Mauritius with a time of 12.57 seconds. She didn’t stop there, she added another gold in a victorious 4 × 100m relay.
In the same month, she proved her dominance with an amazing top-tier finish, clocking 12.41 seconds at the 2022 Wanda Diamond League in Paris.
The same year in July, in Oregon, Tobi broke the 100m hurdles world record in the World Championships semifinals, becoming Nigeria’s first world record holder in athletics. Though she didn’t claim the legal record in the final, she secured her first World Championship title.
Still, in July, she won the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the Stockholm Diamond League, with an impressive time of 12.52 seconds.
In August, Tobi dominated the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, defending her 100m hurdles title and setting a new record of 12.30 seconds. She also helped the Nigeria team win gold at the women’s 4 × 100 m relay.
In September, she set a new record as the first Nigerian to win the Diamond League title in 12.29 seconds at the Zürich Diamond League final event. What a perfect way to wrap up the year.
2023 was the year that tested Tobi. She started the season strong with 12.34 seconds in the 100m Hurdles at the Silesia Diamond League Meet on July 12. However, she faced a hurdle with a temporary anti-doping suspension, later cleared by the Disciplinary Tribunal.
2024 so far…
On January 5th, Tobi broke the African women’s indoor record in the 60-metre hurdles with a time of 7.75 seconds at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston and in February, she won the women’s 60mH at the Meeting Lievin in France clocking in at 7.77 seconds.
At the ongoing 13th African Games in Ghana, Tobi won a gold medal in the Women’s 100m Hurdles finals. This is Tobi’s third consecutive 100m hurdles gold medal at the African Games. She also won gold in the women’s 4 ×100m relays final.
