Tobi Amusan: Breaking Barriers And Setting Records At The Diamond League

At the 2023 Silesia Diamond League, world record holder Tobi Amusan has won the 100-meter women’s hurdles. In a dramatic Sunday race, the Nigerian beat American Kendra Harrison at the finish line, clocking a meeting-record 12.34 seconds. Oluwatobi Amusan, a hurdles sensation from Nigeria, won the competition in a timing of 12.33 seconds, earning her third consecutive Diamond League victory.

On Sunday, September 17, 2023, Tobi Amusan won the race in Eugene, Oregon, USA. She won her first title in 2021 with a time of 12.42 seconds, and then last year in Zurich, she won her second title with 12.29 seconds. For the 24-year-old, the Oregon location has been advantageous because it is the same place where she won the world title and set a new world record last year. In 12.38 seconds, she beat Jasmine Camacho-Quin of Puerto Rico to the finish line. Kendra Harrison of the United States placed third.

Following the Nigerian’s suspension by Athletics Integrity Unity (AIU) for failing three tests in 12 months due to doping offenses, this victory came just a few months later. Three days before the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she was nevertheless found to be in compliance and cleared of the charges. In another history-making feat, after Dawn Nelson-Harper, who won the 100-meter league championship three times, Amusan is only the second woman to do so in Diamond League history.

Speaking on the milestone, Amusan said,

“It was not easy for me with injuries in my hamstring and my knee. But I trusted in my coach and my work. It’s all about the process. I just won this in a smooth style, I was just running. Honestly, I had no idea that I won when I crossed the finish line.”