By Ezinwanne Onwuka
“Unknown now, but soon I will be unforgettable… I will persist until I succeed.”
That was the tweet of a young athlete from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria on 8 November 2016. At the time, she was just another hopeful sprinter striving to make her mark on the world stage.
Six years later, Oluwatobiloba Amusan turned those words into reality. At the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, she became the first Nigerian to win gold in the 100m hurdles, setting a world record of 12.12s in the semi-finals.
Now in 2025, Amusan’s story continues—and the latest chapter proves she’s not done yet.
Rabat: A Statement Win
At the Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco in May, Amusan stormed across the finish line in 12.24s, smashing the previous meet record of 12.51s set by American Olympic champion Brianna Rollins-McNeal in 2018.
It was not just a win; it was a turning point. After a slow start to the season and the disappointment of missing the 100m hurdles final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Amusan needed this. And she delivered.
“God be praised. The beginning of the season was a little bit rough for me,” she said after the race. “But I kept my head down, trusted the process, and believed in God and my hard work.”
Amusan could not be reached by TruthNigeria for this report as she was in Paris on Friday for her fourth Diamond League appearance of the 2025 season in the women’s 100m hurdles after outings in China (Xiamen and Shaoxing/Keqiao) and Morocco (Rabat). She narrowly finished second in 12.24s, behind America’s Grace Stark, who set a new meeting record of 12.21s. Calls to Lanre Vigo, Head of Sports at The Plug, the sports management agency representing Amusan’s brand and marketing interests, went unacknowledged.
Weathering The Storm
In July 2023, just weeks before the World Championships in Budapest, Amusan was provisionally suspended for missing three drug tests in 12 months. The world watched as her reputation hung in the balance.
But she stood firm. “I am a clean athlete, and I am regularly (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU. I was tested within days of my third ‘missed test,’” she said.
“I have FAITH that this will be resolved in my favor and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August.”
And she was right. The World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal lifted the suspension just in time for Budapest. She competed but finished sixth in a time of 12.62s, losing her world title to Jamaica’s Danielle Williams.
In June 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport officially cleared her, confirming she had missed only two tests, not the three required to constitute a violation.
The Making of a Champion
Amusan started out as a sprinter and long jumper as a youngster.
At 13, she turned up to compete in a local athletics meet, only to find that just one event remained on the program: the hurdles. Her coach encouraged her to enter. She ended up winning the race and the rest, as they say, is history.
She collected silver at the 2014 African Youth Games and won the African junior title in 2015. In 2016, while at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), she broke 13 seconds for the first time in 100m hurdles with a run of 12.83s.
Though her talent was undeniable, success at the highest level proved elusive. She bowed out in the semi-finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 World Championships and placed fourth in both Doha 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021).
Then came Oregon 2022, the breakthrough. She shattered the world record in the semi-final and claimed gold in the final. That same year, she defended her Commonwealth title in Birmingham, becoming the first Nigerian track and field athlete to achieve that feat.
“I was the ‘almost girl,’” she said. “I got fourth, fourth, fourth. Now I finally did it.”
More than a Medalist
Now 28, Amusan is focused on the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. She currently trains under the legendary Glen Mills, the coach who guided Usain Bolt to global superstardom.
For many Nigerians, Amusan is more than a world-class hurdler. Her story is more than just about medals. It is a portrait of the Nigerian spirit: fiercely determined, repeatedly challenged, and endlessly hopeful.
“It has been a long journey,” Amusan said.
Indeed, it has. But for Tobi Amusan, the finish line has never been the end. It is just where the next race begins.
Ezinwanne Onwuka covers human interest and feature stories for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
