Nigerians were more than happy to read and watch as Tobi Amusan, a 25-year-old lady born in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state, became the first Nigerian athlete to win a World Athletics Championship gold following her win in the women’s 100m hurdles in Oregon on Sunday, July 17, 2022.
She didn’t only win gold but obliterated the world record in an astonishing semi-final where she clocked 12.12sec, powered over the line at Hayward Field in 12.06sec.
The previous world record was held by Keni Harrison of the United States in 2016.
Who is Tobi Amusan?
Born Oluwatobiloba Ayomide “Tobi” Amusan, Tobi Amusan (as she is fondly called) was born on 23 April 1997. Going by her date of birth, she is currently 25 years old (as at 2022).
She’s a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles and also competes as a sprinter.
Education
She had her Secondary School Education at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu Ode, Ogun state.
Tobi Amusan’s tertiary education is at the University of Texas, El Paso, United States (the same institution where Blessing Okagbare attended). Her college team is UTEP Miners while she belongs to the Buka Tigers Athletics Club.
She received a scholarship to attend the University of Texas, El Paso in 2016.
Amusan first broke through the 13s barrier in the 100m hurdles in 2016 with a time of 12.83s at the El Paso UTEP Invitational.
Humble Beginnings
Tobi Amusan is the last child of three siblings. Her parents are school teachers; thus her strict upbringing was not surprising.
According to some reports she usually sneaks to the stadium to train, in disobedience of her dad’s rules about doing sports, making her mom cover up for her that she’s gone to church meanwhile she’s training at the stadium.
For Amusan’s father, reading and taking one’s studies seriously is the tested and proven way to success and stardom not running around the stadium in the name of training.
But luckily for Tobi, her mother was a bit liberal and was ready to accommodate her little baby’s love and interest in sports. As long as it does not impede her academics.
“My life centred around going to school, sleeping, eating, and reading books, the same cycle that I took into my later life later,” Amusan told worldathletics.org in an interview conducted in 2020.
Meanwhile, her father and mother were also athletes. Her father played volleyball for Ogun State while her mother was a sprinter in her tertiary school days.
Tobi’s father’s opposition to her athletic interest could be because her mother got injured in sports and was abandoned by the authorities.
Positivity and personal belief
On November 8, 2016, at about 7 a.m Texas time, Oluwatobiloba Amusan wrote on Twitter, “Unknown now, but 
I will be UNFORGETTABLE … I will Persist until I SUCCEED ….”
In 2017, Amusan told Making of Champions, “at this moment, Kendra [Harrison] owns the record and I don’t have any but she doesn’t have two heads. It will be good for me to run a PR or break the world record if she is not careful–just kidding…”
In 2020, Amusan mused on Twitter, “My coach taught me that when I walk into a room full of my rivals to look like I own the damn world record. She always reminds me that I’ve practiced hard to trust myself and translate that aggressiveness onto the track.”
Two years later, there is no kidding about the fact that Amusan is a world champion and a record breaker. If not for a tailwind of 2.5m/s, we would talk about a historical event that may never be replicated. One thing that comes through is that Amusan always believed she could become the best in the world in the 100m Hurdles, and eventually, her belief became a fact.
Tobi Amusan’s records
Honours – Olympic Games
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.60 | National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) | 02 AUG 2021 |
Honours – World Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.06 | Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA) | 24 JUL 2022 |
| 4. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.49 | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha (QAT) | 06 OCT 2019 |
Honours – Diamond League Final
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.42 | Letzigrund, Zürich (SUI) | 09 SEP 2021 |
Honours – World Indoor Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | 60 Metres Hurdles | 8.05 | Arena Birmingham, Birmingham (GBR) | 03 MAR 2018 |
Honours – World (Continental) Cup
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.96 | Ostrava (CZE) | 08 SEP 2018 |
Honours – World U20 Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.95 | Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak Stadium, Bydgoszcz (POL) | 24 JUL 2016 |
Honours – African Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4×100 Metres Relay | 44.45 | Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, St Pierre (MRI) | 10 JUN 2022 |
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.57 | Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, St Pierre (MRI) | 09 JUN 2022 |
Honours – All-African Games
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 13.15 | Brazzaville (CGO) | 15 SEP 2015 |
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.68 | Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat (MAR) | 28 AUG 2019 |
Honours – Diamond League
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.42 | Letzigrund, Zürich (SUI) | 09 SEP 2021 |
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.41 | Stade Charléty, Paris (FRA) | 18 JUN 2022 |
Honours – Commonwealth Games
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.68 | Gold Coast (AUS) | 13 APR 2018 |
| 3. | 4×100 Metres Relay | 42.75 | Gold Coast (AUS) | 14 APR 2018 |
Honours – African U20 Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 14.26 | Addis Abeba (ETH) | 06 MAR 2015 |
Honours – National Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.54 | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City (NGR) | 25 JUN 2022 |
| 1. | 4×100 Metres Relay | 43.25 | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City (NGR) | 25 JUN 2022 |
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.3h | Yabatech Sport Complex, Lagos (NGR) | 18 JUN 2021 |
Honours – NCAA Championships
| Place | Discipline | Mark | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.57 | Eugene, OR (USA) | 10 JUN 2017 |
Personal Bests
Outdoor
| Discipline | Performance | Wind | Place | Date | Records | Results Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Metres | 11.14 | 0.0 | Albuquerque, NM (USA) | 21 APR 2022 | 1169 | |
| 100 Metres | 11.11 * | +2.6 | Terry & Linda Fuller T&F Complex, Lubbock, TX (USA) | 02 APR 2022 | 1161 | |
| 150 Metres | 18.68 * | NWI | Ijebu Ode (NGR) | 15 FEB 2014 | 0 | |
| 200 Metres | 22.66 | -1.1 | Albuquerque, NM (USA) | 21 APR 2022 | 1175 | |
| 200 Metres | 22.60 * | +3.2 | El Paso, TX (USA) | 22 APR 2017 | 1156 | |
| 300 Metres | 40.90 | Ijebu Ode (NGR) | 15 FEB 2014 | 912 | ||
| 400 Metres | 60.48 | Harrisonburg, VA (USA) | 15 APR 2017 | 821 | ||
| 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.12 | +0.9 | Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA) | 24 JUL 2022 | WR(p)AR(p)NR | 1272 |
| 100 Metres Hurdles | 12.06 * | +2.5 | Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA) | 24 JUL 2022 | 1265 | |
| 100m Hurdles (76.2cm) | 13.92 | -1.4 | National Stadium, Gaborone (BOT) | 29 MAY 2014 | 0 | |
| Long Jump | 6.07 | +1.7 | Berkeley, CA (USA) | 23 APR 2016 | 1014 | |
| Long Jump | 6.19 * | +2.5 | Berkeley, CA (USA) | 23 APR 2016 | 1025 | |
| 4×100 Metres Relay | 42.75 | Gold Coast (AUS) | 14 APR 2018 | 1188 | ||
| 4×400 Metres Relay | 3:41.68 | Berkeley, CA (USA) | 29 APR 2017 | 1042 |
Indoor
| Discipline | Performance | Wind | Place | Date | Records | Results Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Metres | 7.41 | Albuquerque, NM (USA) | 02 FEB 2019 | 1081 | ||
| 200 Metres | 23.35 | Birmingham, AL (USA) | 19 FEB 2017 | 1144 | ||
| 60 Metres Hurdles | 7.84 | Messehalle, Karlsruhe (GER) | 31 JAN 2020 | 1197 | ||
| Long Jump | 6.15 | Albuquerque, NM (USA) | 03 FEB 2017 | 1031 |
Relationship Status
There is no publicly available report of Tobi Amusan’s romantic life at the time of filing this article. She’s however presumed to be single.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. All details cannot be independently verified by NewsWireNGR or its editorial team.
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