Tobi Amusan

Amusan was a gifted athlete from an early age. She won the silver in the 200 meters at the Warri-hosted 2013 African Youth Championships. At the African Youth Games a year later, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles, earning her first significant medal. She later won the gold medal in the same competition at the Addis Ababa 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships. In 2015, she won gold in the 100 m hurdles in her All-Africa Games debut as an eighteen-year-old. Amusan also competed in the 2016 World Junior Championships, which were held in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She finished fifth in the final despite having the second-fastest time of all time.

She set a UTEP record and a then lifetime best in the 100 m hurdles in her first outdoor event of 2017 with a time of 12.63 seconds. At the beginning of her 2018 season, Amusan ran a 60 m hurdles personal best of 7.89 seconds. She later competed for her nation in the event at the Birmingham World Indoor Championships, where she made it to the final. In Sally Pearson’s absence, the reigning world champion Danielle Williams appeared to be the favourite to win the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Amusan, however, pulled ahead of her rivals in the final and prevailed by more than a full meter. In the 4 100 m relay, she also took home a bronze medal.

The Nigerian successfully defended her African Games championship in August. With a time of 12.60 seconds, Amusan placed fourth once more at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. She then participated in the Zürich Diamond League final event, which she won in a time of 12.42 seconds. In the process, she shattered her compatriot Glory Alozie’s previous record of 12.44 seconds set 23 years earlier. She was the first Nigerian to take home a Diamond League trophy. After two fourth-place finishes, she entered the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July as a genuine medal contender. She improved upon her previous mark once more in the final, clocking a time of 12.06 seconds (2.5 m/s wind assisted) becoming the first Nigerian to win the World Athletics Championships.

Tobi Amusan was born on April 23, 1997, to schoolteachers Mr. and Mrs. Amusan in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. The youngest of three children, she goes by the name of Tobi. She attended the Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in Ijebu Ode for her secondary education. Tobi finished her academic education at the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. She was a member of the UTEP Miners athletic team and the Buka Tigers Athletics Club. She was given a scholarship in 2016 to study at the University of Texas at El Paso.