Former Miner Tobi Amusan broke the world record and set the new world record in the 100-meter hurdles at the World Athletics Championships July 24 in Oregon.  

According to KVIA, Amusan set a new African record during the Saturday heat with a time of 12.40. During the semifinal on Sunday, Amusan set a world record time (12.12) in the 100m hurdles, in which she broke a six-year-old record (12.20 seconds) held by American Kendra Harrison at the London. 

Two hours later, Amusan went on to break the record she had just set in the 100m hurdle to become the World Champion with a finishing time of 12.06.  

Amusan is the first woman of Nigeria to hold a women’s track world record and earned Nigeria the first gold medal in the World Championships. 

“The goal was to come out and to win this gold,” Amusan told World Athletics Championships. “I just did it. Honestly, I believe in my abilities, but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, 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. But it was just a matter of time.” 

According to the World Athletics Championships, Amusan started out as a sprinter and a long jumper at a young age in her hometown of Nigeria. At the age of 13, Amusan went to compete at a local meet in her hometown, but the only event available was hurdles where her coach encouraged her to enter, in which she won. 

Amusan continued to compete in the sprints and long jump events along with sneaking in a few hurdles’ sessions here and there.  

The World Athletics Championships mentions that in 2014 she was replaced in the 4x100m relay team for Nigeria, so she decided to enter in the hurdles, in which she took silver.  

In 2015 Amusan won the African U20 gold in Ethiopia, along with a victory at the All-African Games in Brazzaville, Congo. 

“It was one of the biggest milestones of my career; winning that championship set me up for who I am today,” Amusan told the World Athletics Championships. 

During her days as a Miner, Amusan set a few records during her college career and even earned some honors along the way.  

During the 2016 Outdoor season, Amusan had the fourth fastest time in the nation in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.83 seconds at the UTEP Invitational which earned her a spot at thef National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) West Preliminaries where she finished third. Amusan took gold at the Conference USA Championships in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.06 seconds and she took silver at the NCAA Championships along with earning All-American honors. 

In the 2016 Indoor season, Amusan finished first at C-USA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles clocking a personal best of 8.23 seconds.  

Along with the medals, Amusan earned a few honors during her collegiate career, including 2016 C-USA Outdoor Freshman of the Meet, 2016 Indoor All-American Second Team, 2016 NCAA Outdoor All-American First Team and 2016 C-USA Track Athlete of the Year. 

All information on Tobi Amusan for the World Athletics Championships courtesy of World Athletics Championships https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/news/feature/tobi-amusan-hurdles-world-record-oregon 

All information on Tobi Amusan at UTEP courtesy of UTEP Athletics utepminers.com 

Katrina Villarreal is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected]