July 25, (THEWILL) – Tobi Amusan of Nigeria won the 100-metre hurdles gold medal at the World Championships on Monday, in what was initially reported as a time of 12.06 seconds, but the time was later struck out as ineligible because the wind speed was beyond the legal limit.
However, Amusan was not to be denied her deserving World Record performance as she had previously finished 12.12s in the semi-final at Hayward Field earlier on Monday, breaking the previous mark of 12:20s set by American, Kendra Harrison.
Amusan bounced back from a sluggish beginning to deliver a flawless performance over the hurdles to breast the tape ahead of the field. Britany Anderson of Jamaica, who won the silver medal, was 0.17 seconds behind. She broke into tears when the anthem played with her at the top of the podium proudly bearing her gold medal.
Nia Ali, the 2019 champion, and Alaysha Johnson, a medal contender, both from the United States, were absent from the final because they crashed into the hurdles and dropped out of the preliminary round. Harrison, the American, who won the silver medal at the Olympics and whose 2016 record Amusan broke, was disqualified.
The athletics community was astounded by Amusan’s world record in the semifinal. Usain Bolt tweeted: “Wow,” while Noah Lyles, the reigning 200-meter champion, said: “Are you kidding me?” But, Amusan, the first Nigerian World Record champion and gold medallist in the 100m hurdles simply said: “I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
