Oluwatobiloba Ayomide "Tobi"AmusanOON// ⓘ (born 23 April 1997)[4] is aNigeriantrack and field athlete who specialises in the100 metres hurdles and also competes as asprinter. Amusan is the currentworld record holder in the 100 metres hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds which she set at the 2022 women's 100 metres hurdles semi-final in Eugene, Oregon. She is the currentCommonwealth andAfrican champion in the 100 m hurdles, as well as the meet record holder in those two competitions. Amusan became the first ever Nigerian world champion and world record holder in an athletics event when she won the 2022 World Championships 100 m hurdles gold medal, setting the currentworld record of 12.12 seconds (+0.9 m/s) in the semi-final, followed up by a 12.06 seconds (+2.5 m/s) in the final. She won back-to-back Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 in the 100 m hurdles and is also a two-timeAfrican Games champion.[5][6] She is also the current Diamond league champion in the 100 metres hurdles having won the final in 12.33 seconds (+1.8 m/s) achieving a winning streak in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
In 2015, Amusan took gold in the 100 m hurdles at theAfrican Junior Championships and the same year, as an 18-year-old, secured her first title at theAfrican Games. In 2021, Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to win aDiamond League title as she took the100 m hurdles trophy, breaking the then-African record held byGlory Alozie in the process.[7] She retained her title in2022 and2023.
Tobi Amusan was born on 23 April 1997, inIjebu Ode,Ogun State, Nigeria, to Mr and Mrs Amusan, who are school teachers. Tobi, as she is fondly called, is the youngest of three children.[8] She attended Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in her hometown.[9] In May 2023, Amusan earned Master of Arts degree in Leadership Studies and Sports Management at theUniversity of Texas at El Paso, United States.[10]
From an early age, Amusan was an accomplished athlete. She was the200 metres silver medallist at the2013 African Youth Championships held inWarri.[11][12] A year later, she took her first major medal in the100 metres hurdles, which was also silver, at theAfrican Youth Games.[4] She then claimed gold in the event at the2015 African Junior Athletics Championships inAddis Ababa.[13] Also in2015, while making herAll-Africa Games debut as an eighteen-year-old, she won the gold medal in the 100 m hurdles.[14]
In 2016, as a freshman at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Amusan became the second athlete for the university to be namedC-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year since UTEP joined C-USA.[2] She was the gold medallist in both the 100 m hurdles and the 200 m. She also claimed a silver in the long jump at the C-USA Championships.[15] Amusan first broke the 13 s barrier in the hurdles with a time of 12.83 s at the El Paso UTEP Invitational. This eclipsedKim Turner'sUTEP record, which had stood for 33 years.[16][17] She was runner-up at the2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100 m hurdles. She ran a windy 12.79 s behind Kentucky'sJasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan also competed at the2016 World Junior Championships inBydgoszcz, Poland. Despite running her second-fastest time ever, she placed fifth in the final.[18] She went on to represent Nigeria at theRio Olympic Games, reaching the semifinals of the 100 m hurdles.[4]
In her first outdoor race of 2017, she ran a then-lifetime best and UTEP record of 12.63 s in the 100 m hurdles.[19] She was the C-USA champion in her specialist event and also the runner up in the 200 m. At the2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, there was a reversal of finishes in the 100 m hurdles. In a dramatic race, Amusan claimed the title ahead of Camacho-Quinn, the previous year's champion. She did this in a personal record time of 12.57 s.[20] She also represented Nigeria at theWorld Championships in London later in the year.[4]
Amusan ran a personal best of 7.89 s in the 60 m hurdles at the start of her 2018 season. She represented her country at theBirmingham World Indoor Championships, reaching the final in the event.[21]
At the2018 Commonwealth Games inGold Coast, Australia, 2015 world championDanielle Williams seemed to be the favourite to take the title in the absence ofSally Pearson. In the final, however, Amusan moved ahead of her competitors and won the race by a clear metre ahead of Williams.[22][2] She also won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with her teammates,Joy Udo-Gabriel,Blessing Okagbare andRosemary Chukwuma. Later in the year, she won her first African Championship title in her signature event at theAsaba African Championships.[23] This fulfilled a Nigerian tradition being 11th gold for Nigeria in the 100 m hurdles sinceJudy Bell-Gam triumphed at the inaugural edition of the championships in1979.[24] She also claimed a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the championships.[25]
The 22-year-old successfully defended herAfrican Games title in August.[4] On 5 October at theWorld Championships inDoha, Qatar, she ran a personal best of 12.48 s during the 100 m hurdles qualifying rounds. In the semi-finals the following day, she equaled this personal best before placing fourth a few hours later in the final with a time of 12.49 s.[4]
Amusan finished fourth at the delayed2020 Tokyo Olympics with a time of 12.60 s.[4] She later competed in theZürichDiamond League final event, which she won in a new African record of 12.42 s, breaking 23-years-old best of 12.44 s held by her compatriotGlory Alozie and becoming the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League trophy.[7]
In June, Amusan defended her 100 m hurdles title at theAfrican Championships inMauritius with a time of 12.57 s. She also competed in the women's 4 × 100 m relay to earn a second gold medal. The same month, she lowered her African record in her specialist event with a 12.41 s clocking when winning at theDiamond League meet inParis.
The 25-year-old entered theWorld Championships held inEugene, Oregon in July as a medal contender after back-to-back fourth-place finishes. In the heats, she again bettered her African record with a time of 12.40 s, improving by a further 0.01 s. In the semi-final, Amusan set a new world record of 12.12 seconds, breaking the previous best of 12.20 s set by AmericanKendra Harrison in 2016 and becoming the first Nigeria's world record holder in an athletics event.[26] It was the largestimprovement for a world record in the 100 m hurdles in 42 years.[27] She bested her time once again in the final, running 12.06 s (2.5 m/s wind assisted, thus not a legal WR),[28] becoming the first Nigeria's world champion at theWorld Athletics Championships.[29][6]
In August at theCommonwealth Games inBirmingham, Amusan successfully defended her title, winning her second consecutive gold medal in the 100 m hurdles with a new Games record of 12.30 s. She also helped power Nigeria's women's 4 × 100 m relay team to gold.[30][31] She competed in her specialist event at theLausanne Diamond Race meet later that month, finishing second with a time of 12.60 s, behind reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan wrapped up her long and successful 2022 campaign by winning 100 m hurdles at the Zürich Diamond League final event with a 12.29 s performance to retain her title. She finished ahead of 2–4,Tia Jones,Britany Anderson, and Camacho-Quinn, setting a new meet record in the process.[32]
On 16 July 2023, Amusan clocked a new season best of 12.34 seconds in the 100m Hurdles at the Silesia Diamond League meet. Three days later, Amusan was charged with missing three anti-doping controls and was given a provisional suspension from participation.[33][34] On 17 August 2023, the Disciplinary Tribunal found that Amusan had not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period and her provisional suspension was lifted.[35]CAS upheld the decision in 2024.[36]
At the2023 World Championships held inBudapest, she finished sixth in the final held on 24 August.[37]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | African Youth Championships | Warri, Nigeria | 2nd | 200 m | 24.45 |
| 3rd | Long jump | 5.52 m | |||
| World Youth Championships | Donetsk, Ukraine | — (sf) | 200 m | DQ | |
| — (h) | Medley relay | DQ | |||
| 2014 | African Youth Games | Gaborone, Botswana | 2nd | 100 m hurdles | 13.92 |
| World Junior Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | — (h) | 100 m hurdles | DNS | |
| 2015 | African Junior Championships | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 14.26 |
| African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of Congo | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 13.15 | |
| 2016 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 5th | 100 m hurdles | 12.95 |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 11th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.91 | |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 14th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 13.04 |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 7th | 60 m hurdles | 8.05 |
| Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.68 | |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.75 | |||
| African Championships | Asaba, Nigeria | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.86 | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.77 | |||
| Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 5th | 100 m hurdles | 12.96 | |
| — (f) | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ163.3(a) | |||
| 2019 | African Games | Rabat, Morocco | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.68 |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 4th | 100 m hurdles | 12.49 | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 4th | 100 m hurdles | 12.60 |
| 12th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.25 | |||
| 2022 | African Championships | Port Louis, Mauritius | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.57w |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 44.45 | |||
| World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.06w (WR sf) | |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.30GR | |
| DQ | 4 × 100 m relay | ||||
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 6th | 100 m hurdles | 12.62 |
| 2024 | African Games | Accra, Ghana | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.89 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.05 | |||
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 9th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.55 |
| Event | Time | Wind | Place | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres indoor | 7.41 | Albuquerque, NM, United States | 2 February 2019 | ||
| 60 metres hurdles | 7.75 | Boston, MA, United States | 4 February 2024 | African record | |
| 100 metres | 11.14 | 0.0 m/s | Albuquerque, NM, United States | 21 April 2022 | |
| 200 metres | 22.66 | -1.1 m/s | Albuquerque, NM, United States | 21 April 2022 | |
| 200 metres indoor | 23.35 | Birmingham, AL, United States | 19 February 2017 | ||
| 100 metres hurdles | 12.12 | +0.9 m/s | Eugene, OR, United States | 24 July 2022 | World record |
| 100 metres hurdles | 12.06w | +2.5 m/s | Eugene, OR, United States | 24 July 2022 | not legal |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 42.10 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 7 August 2022 | African record | |
| Long jump | 6.07 m | +1.7 m/s | Berkeley, CA, United States | 23 April 2016 | |
| Long jump indoor | 6.15 m | Albuquerque, NM, United States | 3 February 2017 |
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org. |
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for NigeriaParis 2024 with Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by | Women's 100 m hurdles world record holder July 24, 2022 – present | Incumbent |
|
|
African Champions in women's100 metres hurdles | |
|---|---|
|
Commonwealth Games champions in women's100 metres hurdles | |
|---|---|
| 80 metres hurdles (1934–1966) | |
| 100 metres hurdles (1970–present) |
|
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