World record holder Tobi Amusan has said that she did not know she ran very fast at the final of the 100m women’s hurdles at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 25-year-old ran a blistering 12.30secs on Sunday, August 7 to claim the gold and also set a new games record in Birmingham. Her personal best and world record came in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States where she clocked 12.12 seconds.
On Friday, August 5, she clocked 12.40s (+2.4) to qualify for the final.
Speaking after her victory in Birmingham, Amusan said, “Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships.
“The goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis.
“Before the final, I just tried to stay calm and to do my best. I took a deep breath knowing that I have some goals to accomplish and it worked pretty well. I knew it was very fast but not this fast.”
Before the race, Amusan was favourite to get the gold medal following her impressive showing at the World Championships.
In Birmingham, Amusan also inspired Team Nigeria to win gold in the women’s 4×100 relay race.
The quartet of Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha clinched gold in the relay event on Sunday with a time of 42.10s, setting another African record in the process.
The men’s team finished behind England to win bronze in the final of the 4x100m relay.
