Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has set a new world record of 12.12 secs in the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals at the Track and Field World Championships in Oregon. The 25-year-old Nigerian beat the former world record of 12.20 seconds set by USA’s Kendra Harrison in 2016 by taking eight hundredths off the former world record.
The Nigerian athlete in running a new world record also set the longest time drop for a world record in 42 years. She won a cash prize of $100,000.
What’s more?
Tobi Amusan showed her preparedness for the race when she ran an African record time of 12.40 secs during her heat races on Saturday. With the 12.40 secs, Tobi Amusan set the fastest first-round time in the heat of the World Athletics Championships.
What Tobi Amusan said
The world record holder said, “Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. 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.
“Before the final, I just tried to stay calm and to do my best. I took a deep breath knowing that I have some goals to accomplish and it worked pretty good. I knew it was very fast but not this fast.”