By Oviri Kelvin, Sports Editor
World champion and record holder Tobi Amusan has broken the Commonwealth Games record to set hers of 12.30s in the 100mh event at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.
Amusan, who recently in World Athletics Championships, Oregon, to become the world record holder, extraordinarily upset the world of athletics to crest a second feat in the Commonwealth Games.
The 25-year-old, who in the build up to the finally round had dominated her challengers, flawed Jamaican silver medalist Devynne Charlton on 12.58s and England’s bronze medalist Cindy Sember on 12.59s to ignite the ecstatic crowd.
Prior to the final contest, specifically on Saturday, the President of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa believed Nigeria athletes will win more golds before the conclusion of the games with much emphasis on Tobi Amusan to successfully defend her title and set a new record.
Tonobok referred to the world record holder as a star in the world of athletics, who will become the first Nigerian athlete to successfully defend her title in Birmingham.
Amusan won the title in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, and has successfully defended it with games record to compliment her feat. With this achievement by the petite athlete, she becomes the second sprint hurdler after Australian Sally Pearson (2010, 2014) to defend the 100mh title in Commonwealth Games. Why hers is spectacular, she set a new record in the process.
“Tobi has proved to be a big ocassion athlete and exhibited it at the World Championships in Oregon, USA last month where she not only made history as the first Nigerian to be crowned a world champion but also the first Nigerian athlete to set a world record,” Okowa said.
“She will be defending the Commonwealth Games title she won four years ago in the Gold Coast, Australia and the entire athletics family in Nigeria is behind our golden girl who has exhibited the can-do-spirit of an average Nigerian,” the AFN President added.
Amusan had earlier broken the Commonwealth Games record of 12.65s set in 2006 by Jamaica’s Brigitte Foster-Hyltonalso with her 12.40s attained in the semi-final but it was rendered untenable by a 2.4m/s tail wind.
Despite the setback, the undeterred Ijebu Ode-born sprint hurdler finally broke the 16 years record with a 12.30s run.
Spectacularly, Amusan has become the first Nigerian athlete to win gold at the African Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships in the same year.
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