Tobi Amusan: How a Nigerian hurdler set a World Record a year ago

Tobi Amusan, Nigeria's first World Record holder and World Champion, was crowned at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon a year ago. A year ago (July 24th, 2022), Nigerians awoke to the historic news that Tobi Amusan had become the country's first World Record (WR) holder and outdoor champion in athletics history. This life-changing occurrence occurred at the eighteenth World Championships in Oregon, as she advanced from medal contender to world champion in the women's 100m Hurdles.Amusan first gave a tip on what to expect, clocking a new lifetime best and lowering her African Record (AR) from 12.41s to 12.40s in the qualifying heats (it was also the fastest overall time in the rounds). In a post-race interview, she said: "I didn't know I was running that fast, I was just trying to get to the finish line as soon as possible. My coach will be mad at me." In a post-race interview, she said: "I didn't know I was running that fast, I was just trying to get to the finish line as soon as possible. My coach will be mad at me." On July 24th, the Nigerian competed in the semifinals against top hurdlers such as USA's Kendra Harrison (then world record holder in the event).To the amazement of many, Amusan flew through the 10 hurdles faster than the rest of the field. She looked up at the scoreboard after reaching the finish line. First came joy at winning the race, then astonishment, and finally joy. Her timing was 12.12 seconds, a new World mark, breaking Harrison's previous mark of 12.20 seconds, which had lasted since 2016.At that moment, a shocked Amusan's first words were: "What's happening"? The spectators at the stadium were speechless and wondered if the timer malfunctioned or if there was a wind-assistance reading to it. But no, it was a legal wind reading at 0.9m/s.