2016 Rio Olympics semifinalist Tobi Amusan clocked a 12.63 seconds lifetime and 2017 world leading 100m hurdles best on Saturday afternoon at the University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) Springtime meet held at the school ground,the Kidd Field.
The time which broke a 34 year old UTEP record also shot the petite sprint hurdler up as the second fastest Nigerian of all-time in the event behind Africa
and Nigeria’s record holder,Glory Alozie (12.44).
The Nigerian wasn’t surprised she ran that fast.”I didn’t have any idea,” Amusan was quoted as saying by the El Paso Times when asked if she knew how fast she had run.
“It felt so good, so easy. I wasn’t surprised, I’ve been working hard ever since I got back from (indoor) nationals. I don’t go into competitions with the
idea of running a time. I go into competition trying to execute my race. It showed.”
To put her time in perspective, it would have finished last season tied for the 10th best time in the world and the best in the NCAA.
As she crossed the line, her coach Lacena Golding-Clarke thought she had messed it up on her hand time.
“My stopwatch gave me an inclination of what it was but I was waiting for the official time,” Golding-Clarke said. “I had 12.4-something (a hand time in the
100 hurdles should be .24 faster than the fully-automatic time) and I thought, ‘That’s not possible.’ I was not thinking she was ready to run that fast.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s trained so hard.
“I’m so, so happy for her. I was thinking maybe a sub-13, maybe a 12.90 we can work with, but to run 12.63 as a sophomore – that’s better than my (personal
record). I ran pro for 11 years and my best was 12.65. And she’s just a sophomore,”Golding-Clarke told the El Paso Times.
