Tobi Amusan surged to victory in the women’s 100-meter hurdles on Sunday in Oregon, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win a gold medal at a World Athletics Championship.
Amusan crossed the finish line at Hayward Field in 12.06 seconds after shattering the world record in an astounding semifinal with a time of 12.12 seconds.
However, a strong following win of 2.5 meters per second means that her winning time will not be recognized as a world record.
Britany Anderson of Jamaica won silver in 12.23 seconds, while Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, an Olympic champion, won bronze in 12.23.
In the semi-finals, Amusan broke the previous record of 12.20 seconds, which had been held by Keni Harrison of the United States since 2016.
Harrison, who had been left in Amusan’s wake in the semifinal, was once more given the cold shoulder by the Nigerian in the championship.
After clearing the first obstacle, Amusan was in great shape and quickly built a significant lead before pulling away in front of Anderson and the rapidly closing Camacho-Quinn.
