BY: Michelle Liew
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has set a new world record in the women’s 100 meters hurdles at the close of the World Athletics Championships on Sunday.
The Nigerian athlete broke the world record with a time of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals at Hayward Field, surpassing the previous record of 12.20 seconds set by American Kendra Harrison in July 2016. She had a slower start but recovered to display a stellar performance over the barriers, .17 seconds clear of silver medallist Britany Anderson of Jamaica.
“The goal was to come out and to win this gold,” said Amusan as quoted from The Star. “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.”
Amusan’s world record in the semi-final stunned the athletics world, including the top guns.
“Wow” tweeted sprint king Usain Bolt, while 200m champion Noah Lyles tweeted: “Are you kidding me?” Amusan said she was shocked to have produced the record in the semi-final but knew she had it in her.
“I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time,” she added.
