Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan has “obliterated” two world records within two hours of each other at the World Athletics Championships in the US.
Amusan set back-to-back world records in her semi-final victory, and then to win gold in the final of the women’s 100m hurdles.
First, she won her semi in a blistering 12.12 seconds – shaving nearly a tenth of a second off the previous record. Amusan was clearly in shock after looking at the clock to check her time.
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“She’s looking at the clock to see if it’s a mistake. But it wasn’t, it’s been confirmed,” commentator Tim Hutchings said.
Just under two hours later, she was back for the final. After a slow start, Amusan pulled ahead in the middle of the race to win in 12.06 seconds and become the first Nigerian world champion.
“What a way to do it. What a stage on which to discover sporting immortality,” Hutchings said.
“That was utterly extraordinary. We doubted she could do it again – how dare we.
“Nigeria, the proud African nation are on top of the world tonight. And Amusan has delivered an evening of unprecedented glory and speed.
“That was utterly, utterly incredible.”
Unfortunately – only the record set in the semi will stand, as it was revealed five minutes after the final that the wind reading during the race was too strong.
Guidelines dictate the winds in world record runs cannot exceed 2m/sec. The reading for the final was 2.5m/sec.
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