By Seyi Babalola
At the African Games in Ghana on Wednesday, Tobi Amusan, the Nigerian hurdles star, became victorious in the women’s 100-meter hurdles event with a time of 12.89 seconds.
During the first race attempt, Amusan had a false-start fright that may have resulted in her disqualification.
However, the referees chose to be lenient with her and gave her a yellow card in its place.
She won the African Games for the third time in a row with that triumph.
Amusan emerged victorious over Sidonie Fiadanantsoa of Madagascar, who finished in second place with a time of 13.19 seconds.
Faith Osamuyi from Nigeria narrowly missed securing a spot on the podium, finishing in 4th place with a time of 13.77 seconds.
Amusan holds the current world record in the 100m hurdles, clocking an impressive time of 12.12 seconds.
She achieved this feat during the semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022.
She holds titles and records in the 100m hurdles, both at the Commonwealth and African levels.
Amusan made history as the first Nigerian to become a world champion and world record holder in athletics.
She secured the gold medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 World Championships, setting the world record of 12.12 seconds (+0.9m/s) in the semi-final.
She continued her outstanding performance with a time of 12.06 seconds (+2.5m/s) in the final.
She won back-to-back Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 in the 100m hurdles and is also now a three-time African Games champion in the event.
