Wikipedia

Tobi Amusan

Oluwatobiloba Ayomide "Tobi" Amusan OON // ⓘ (born 23 April 1997)[4] is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles and also competes as a sprinter. Amusan is the current world record holder in the 100 metres hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds which she set at the 2022 women's 100 metres hurdles semi-final in Eugene, Oregon. She is the current Commonwealth and African champion in the 100 m hurdles, as well as the meet record holder in those two competitions. Amusan became the first ever Nigerian world champion and world record holder in an athletics event when she won the 2022 World Championships 100 m hurdles gold medal, setting the current world record of 12.12 seconds (+0.9 m/s) in the semi-final, followed up by a 12.06 seconds (+2.5 m/s) in the final. She won back-to-back Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 in the 100 m hurdles and is also a two-time African Games champion.[5][6] She is also the current Diamond league champion in the 100 metres hurdles having won the final in 12.33 seconds (+1.8 m/s) achieving a winning streak in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Tobi Amusan
OON
Amusan at the ISTAF Berlin in 2019
Personal information
Birth nameOluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan
NicknameTobi Express
Born (1997-04-23) 23 April 1997 (age 27)
Ijebu Ode, Nigeria[1]
EducationUniversity of Texas at El Paso
Alma materOur Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu-Ode
Height1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryNigeria
SportAthletics
Sprint100 metres hurdles
College teamUTEP Miners
ClubBuka Tigers
Coached byLacena Golding-Clarke[2]

Mika Laaksonen[3]

Solaja Ayodele, Buka Tigers Coach
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1 (2023)
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  Nigeria
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Eugene 100 m hurdles
Diamond League
First place 2021 100 m hurdles
First place 2022 100 m hurdles
First place 2023 100 m hurdles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 100 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m relay
African Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Brazzaville 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rabat 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Accra 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Accra 4x100 m relay
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Asaba 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Asaba 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2022 Mauritius 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Mauritius 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2024 Douala 4×100 m relay
African Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Addis Ababa 100 m hurdles
African Youth Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Gaborone 100 m hurdles
African Youth Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Warri 200 m

In 2015, Amusan took gold in the 100 m hurdles at the African Junior Championships and the same year, as an 18-year-old, secured her first title at the African Games. In 2021, Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to win a Diamond League title as she took the 100 m hurdles trophy, breaking the then-African record held by Glory Alozie in the process.[7] She retained her title in 2022 and 2023.

Early life and education

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Tobi Amusan was born on 23 April 1997, in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria, to Mr and Mrs Amusan, who are school teachers. Tobi, as she is fondly called, is the youngest of three children.[8] She attended Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in her hometown.[9] In May 2023, Amusan earned Master of Arts degree in Leadership Studies and Sports Management at the University of Texas at El Paso, United States.[10]

Career

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From an early age, Amusan was an accomplished athlete. She was the 200 metres silver medallist at the 2013 African Youth Championships held in Warri.[11][12] A year later, she took her first major medal in the 100 metres hurdles, which was also silver, at the African Youth Games.[4] She then claimed gold in the event at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa.[13] Also in 2015, while making her All-Africa Games debut as an eighteen-year-old, she won the gold medal in the 100 m hurdles.[14]

2016

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In 2016, as a freshman at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Amusan became the second athlete for the university to be named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year since UTEP joined C-USA.[2] She was the gold medallist in both the 100 m hurdles and the 200 m. She also claimed a silver in the long jump at the C-USA Championships.[15] Amusan first broke the 13 s barrier in the hurdles with a time of 12.83 s at the El Paso UTEP Invitational. This eclipsed Kim Turner's UTEP record, which had stood for 33 years.[16][17] She was runner-up at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100 m hurdles. She ran a windy 12.79 s behind Kentucky's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan also competed at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Despite running her second-fastest time ever, she placed fifth in the final.[18] She went on to represent Nigeria at the Rio Olympic Games, reaching the semifinals of the 100 m hurdles.[4]

2017

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In her first outdoor race of 2017, she ran a then-lifetime best and UTEP record of 12.63 s in the 100 m hurdles.[19] She was the C-USA champion in her specialist event and also the runner up in the 200 m. At the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, there was a reversal of finishes in the 100 m hurdles. In a dramatic race, Amusan claimed the title ahead of Camacho-Quinn, the previous year's champion. She did this in a personal record time of 12.57 s.[20] She also represented Nigeria at the World Championships in London later in the year.[4]

2018: Commonwealth and African champion

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Amusan ran a personal best of 7.89 s in the 60 m hurdles at the start of her 2018 season. She represented her country at the Birmingham World Indoor Championships, reaching the final in the event.[21]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, 2015 world champion Danielle Williams seemed to be the favourite to take the title in the absence of Sally Pearson. In the final, however, Amusan moved ahead of her competitors and won the race by a clear metre ahead of Williams.[22][2] She also won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with her teammates, Joy Udo-Gabriel, Blessing Okagbare and Rosemary Chukwuma. Later in the year, she won her first African Championship title in her signature event at the Asaba African Championships.[23] This fulfilled a Nigerian tradition being 11th gold for Nigeria in the 100 m hurdles since Judy Bell-Gam triumphed at the inaugural edition of the championships in 1979.[24] She also claimed a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the championships.[25]

2019: Second African Games title

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The 22-year-old successfully defended her African Games title in August.[4] On 5 October at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she ran a personal best of 12.48 s during the 100 m hurdles qualifying rounds. In the semi-finals the following day, she equaled this personal best before placing fourth a few hours later in the final with a time of 12.49 s.[4]

2021: First Nigerian Diamond League champion

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Amusan finished fourth at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a time of 12.60 s.[4] She later competed in the Zürich Diamond League final event, which she won in a new African record of 12.42 s, breaking 23-years-old best of 12.44 s held by her compatriot Glory Alozie and becoming the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League trophy.[7]

2022: World, Commonwealth, African and Diamond League champion

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Tobi Amusan races in the 100 m hurdles final at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene

In June, Amusan defended her 100 m hurdles title at the African Championships in Mauritius with a time of 12.57 s. She also competed in the women's 4 × 100 m relay to earn a second gold medal. The same month, she lowered her African record in her specialist event with a 12.41 s clocking when winning at the Diamond League meet in Paris.

The 25-year-old entered the World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July as a medal contender after back-to-back fourth-place finishes. In the heats, she again bettered her African record with a time of 12.40 s, improving by a further 0.01 s. In the semi-final, Amusan set a new world record of 12.12 seconds, breaking the previous best of 12.20 s set by American Kendra Harrison in 2016 and becoming the first Nigeria's world record holder in an athletics event.[26] It was the largest improvement for a world record in the 100 m hurdles in 42 years.[27] She bested her time once again in the final, running 12.06 s (2.5 m/s wind assisted, thus not a legal WR),[28] becoming the first Nigeria's world champion at the World Athletics Championships.[29][6]

In August at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Amusan successfully defended her title, winning her second consecutive gold medal in the 100 m hurdles with a new Games record of 12.30 s. She also helped power Nigeria's women's 4 × 100 m relay team to gold.[30][31] She competed in her specialist event at the Lausanne Diamond Race meet later that month, finishing second with a time of 12.60 s, behind reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan wrapped up her long and successful 2022 campaign by winning 100 m hurdles at the Zürich Diamond League final event with a 12.29 s performance to retain her title. She finished ahead of 2–4, Tia Jones, Britany Anderson, and Camacho-Quinn, setting a new meet record in the process.[32]

2023

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On 16 July 2023, Amusan clocked a new season best of 12.34 seconds in the 100m Hurdles at the Silesia Diamond League meet. Three days later, Amusan was charged with missing three anti-doping controls and was given a provisional suspension from participation.[33][34] On 17 August 2023, the Disciplinary Tribunal found that Amusan had not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period and her provisional suspension was lifted.[35]

At the 2023 World Championships held in Budapest, she finished sixth in the final held on 24 August.[36]

Achievements

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Amusan after her final victory at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene

International competitions

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Representing   Nigeria
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
2013 African Youth Championships Warri, Nigeria 2nd 200 m 24.45
3rd Long jump 5.52 m
World Youth Championships Donetsk, Ukraine — (sf) 200 m DQ
— (h) Medley relay DQ
2014 African Youth Games Gaborone, Botswana 2nd 100 m hurdles 13.92
World Junior Championships Eugene, OR, United States — (h) 100 m hurdles DNS
2015 African Junior Championships Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1st 100 m hurdles 14.26
African Games Brazzaville, Republic of Congo 1st 100 m hurdles 13.15
2016 World Junior Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 5th 100 m hurdles 12.95
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.91
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 14th (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.04
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 7th 60 m hurdles 8.05
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 1st 100 m hurdles 12.68
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 42.75
African Championships Asaba, Nigeria 1st 100 m hurdles 12.86
1st 4 × 100 m relay 43.77
Continental Cup Ostrava, Czech Republic 5th 100 m hurdles 12.96
— (f) 4 × 100 m relay DQ 163.3(a)
2019 African Games Rabat, Morocco 1st 100 m hurdles 12.68
World Championships Doha, Qatar 4th 100 m hurdles 12.49
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 4th 100 m hurdles 12.60
12th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 43.25
2022 African Championships Port Louis, Mauritius 1st 100 m hurdles 12.57w
1st 4 × 100 m relay 44.45
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 1st 100 m hurdles 12.06w (WR sf)
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st 100 m hurdles 12.30 GR
DQ 4 × 100 m relay 42.10 AR
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 6th 100 m hurdles 12.62
2024 African Games Accra, Ghana 1st 100 m hurdles 12.89
1st 4 × 100 m relay 43.05
Olympic Games Paris, France 9th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.55

Circuit win and titles

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National and NCAA titles

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Personal bests

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Event Time Wind Place Date Notes
60 metres indoor 7.41 Albuquerque, NM, United States 2 February 2019
60 metres hurdles 7.75 Boston, MA, United States 4 February 2024 African record
100 metres 11.14 0.0 m/s Albuquerque, NM, United States 21 April 2022
200 metres 22.66 -1.1 m/s Albuquerque, NM, United States 21 April 2022
200 metres indoor 23.35 Birmingham, AL, United States 19 February 2017
100 metres hurdles 12.12 +0.9 m/s Eugene, OR, United States 24 July 2022 World record
100 metres hurdles 12.06w +2.5 m/s Eugene, OR, United States 24 July 2022 not legal
4 × 100 m relay 42.10 Birmingham, United Kingdom 7 August 2022 African record
Long jump 6.07 m +1.7 m/s Berkeley, CA, United States 23 April 2016
Long jump indoor 6.15 m Albuquerque, NM, United States 3 February 2017

Awards and honours

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2022

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "2018 CWG bio". Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Ex-UTEP Miner, El Pasoan Tobi Amusan wins gold at Commonwealth Games". El Paso Times. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Raise the Pick: Tobi Amusan". Campus Newsfeed. UTEP. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Tobi AMUSAN – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Spotlight on finalists: Tobi Amusan and Mondo Duplantis". World Athletics. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Popoola, Oluwadare (28 November 2022). "Top 10 World Sprinters in 2022 - Part 2". Making of Champions. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b Maduewesi, Christopher (9 September 2021). "Tobi Amusan breaks African Record & becomes 1st Nigerian to win a Diamond League Trophy". Making of Champions. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ Alaka, Jide; Eludini, Tunde (26 July 2022). "Tobi Amusan: Nigeria's 'almost girl' who now rules the world". Premium Times. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Tobi Amusan Biography: Age, Height, Medals, Awards, Net Worth". Quick Pedia. 14 August 2024.
  10. ^ Itodo, Sunny Green (18 May 2023). "Tobi Amusan bags Master's degree from US university". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  11. ^ Ikhazuagbe, Duro (31 March 2013). "Africa: Nigeria Wins African Youth Athletics Championships". All AFrica. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  12. ^ "African Youth Championships, Warri (Nigeria) 28-31/03/2013". Africathle. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Fantastic Friday for Team Nigeria as Brume, Oduduru, others strike GOLD on Day 2 of African Juniors!". Making of Champions. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  14. ^ George Akpanyen (15 September 2015). "Amusan wins women's 100m hurdles gold". SuperSports. Retrieved 15 September 2015. [permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Tobi Amusan - Track & Field". The University of Texas at El Paso Athletics. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  16. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (1 May 2016). "IAAF: Continental U20 records for Amusan and Bukowiecki". iaaf.org. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  17. ^ Fameso, Funmi (1 May 2016). "Amusan shatters 33-year old School Record, qualifies for Rio 2016!". Making of Champions. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  18. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (24 July 2016). "IAAF: Report: women's 100m hurdles – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016". iaaf.org. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  19. ^ Bloomquist, Bret. "Amusan runs best time in world at UTEP meet". El Paso Times. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Women 100 Meter Hurdles". ncaa.com. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  21. ^ Aluwong, Jeremiah (20 January 2020). "Women You Should Know- Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan • Connect Nigeria". Connect Nigeria. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  22. ^ Johnson, Len (13 April 2018). "Cheptegei and Semenya complete Commonwealth doubles with Games records". iaaf.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Obiri and Ta Lou dominate, Samaai defeats Manyonga at African Championships in Asaba| News | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  24. ^ Usenekong, Gold (2 August 2018). "Asaba 2018: Ethiopia Nicks First Gold,Ta Lou Storms Into 100m Semis - Complete Sports Nigeria". Complete Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Tobi Amusan Archives". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Nigeria's Tobi Amusan sets new world record in 100m hurdles". France 24. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  27. ^ Ogeyingbo, Deji (17 November 2022). "Top 10 female African Athletes in 2022 (5-1)". RunBlogRun.com. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  28. ^ Heisen, Aaron (25 July 2022). "Amusan wins world 100m hurdles title after breaking world record in semis". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  29. ^ McAlister, Sean (25 July 2022). "Track & Field Worlds: Tobi Amusan breaks world record before going on to win gold in 100m hurdles". Olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Unstoppable Tobi Amusan wins 2 consecutive GOLD medals at the Commonwealth Games". Making Of Champions. Christopher Maduewesi. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  31. ^ "Nigerian teams win GOLD & Bronze 4x100m relay medals in Birmingham". Making Of Champions. Christopher Maduewesi. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  32. ^ a b "Amusan and Lyles break meeting records en route to Diamond League wins in Zurich". World Athletics. Jess Whittington and Jon Mulkeen. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Tobi Amusan disputes charge for missing doping tests". 19 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Tobi Amusan Makes Big Statement After Being Charged With Anti Doping violations by the AIU". Sports Brief.
  35. ^ "World Athletics Championships: Tobi Amusan cleared over missing doping tests". BBC News. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  36. ^ Ugwu, Francis (24 August 2023). "Tobi Amusan loses 100m Hurdles world title to Jamaica's Williams". Daily Post. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Wanda Diamond League Final | Zürich (SUI) | 8th-9th Sept 2021" (PDF). Diamond League. 9 September 2021. p. 10. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  38. ^ "Prefontaine Classic – Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA) – 16–17 SEP 2023 – Day 2", World Athletics. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  39. ^ Eludini, Tunde (21 December 2022). "2022: Nigeria's Tobi Amusan named Africa's Best Female Athlete". Premium Times. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
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Olympic Games
Preceded by Flag bearer for   Nigeria
Paris 2024
with
Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Records
Preceded by Women's 100 m hurdles world record holder
July 24, 2022 – present 		Incumbent
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