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.
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“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.”
