Sports
TOBI AMUSAN: From Unknown to Unforgettable
… The story of 25-Year Old Nigerian Accidental Hurdler
By Paul Eso
After nine days 0f track and field events on the Hayward Field in Oregon, Nigeria was battling a drought of medals at the 2022 World Athletic Championship. Results were not going in tandem with the expectations and quality of talents of the Nigerian contingents. Several events completed, no podium finish and little excitement.
But everything changed when Tobi Amusan lined up for the semi-final of the women’s 100 meters hurdles on the final day of the tournament. With the wind to her spikes, she glided over all the 10 hurdles with swooshing ease to become the fastest female hurdler in the world.
At 12.12 seconds, she buried US Kandra Harrison’s record of six years ago. And that was only the beginning of a night that an Ijebu Ode-born girl would chisel her name in gold on the summit of world athletics history.
Barely two hours later, she returned to the tracks and, with her braids behind her like a cape, blitzed to the finish line at an even faster 12.06 seconds — it was wind-aided and ineligible for a world record — to become the first Nigerian to win a gold medal at the World Athletic Championship.
But Amusan probably did not fully digest the magnitude of the feats she had spurned on the night until the patriotic tunes of Nigeria’s national anthem blazoned during the medal presentation. The 25-year-old’s face was wet with tears as she sang “the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”
Amusan suddenly realised she’s one of those “heroes” now.
Her name will be taught as a source of inspiration to millions of children. Her feat is an oasis for Nigerians inundated by the acridity of the country’s security challenges. Her reign as Nigeria’s “queen of the track” has begun.
Amusan’s ascendancy into athletics royalty had been foreseen years prior, with different coaches marvelling at her lightning-quick box of talent. However, it has been a rugged climb to the top rather than a quick dash for the fast legs of the Nigerian.
From Ijebu to El Paso
Amusan was born on April 23, 1997, in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. She was born into a family with a sports background as her mother once played volleyball. Her track and field talent was discovered at the Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in her hometown.
She began considering the path of professional athletics when she represented Nigeria at the first edition of the African Youth Athletics Championship in 2013. At 16, she competed in the 200 meters sprint and won silver for the country.
Two years later, she was part of the contingent for the 2015 African Youth Athletics Championship and she won the gold medal with 14.26 seconds in the women’s 100 meters hurdles. It was a huge feat for the teenager but it would cost her a potential scholarship in the US.
“My school [University of Texas, El Paso] had been contacting me since 2014 before I went for the 2015 African Junior Championships. But there I ran above 14 seconds and they told me it wasn’t up to the standard for recruiting for the NCAAs Division 1 level,” she had said in one interview.
However, she funnelled her disappointment into a three-month training for the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Congo. She went into the competition ranked distant 10th. Amusan would then break the African U20 record twice as she ran 13.15 to win the gold medal in the women’s 100 meters hurdles. The school came calling again, this time with ferocity and desperation.
“You don’t even want to know about the phone calls [from UTEP]! They were killing me with calls! “Can you send this, can you send that?!” Amusan said.
Accidental Hurdler
Amusan’s sprint career did not start as a hurdler but fate and a blessing in disguise of disappointment sent her down that path.
Replaced as a member of the Nigerian 4x100m relay squad at the trials for the 2014 African Youth Games, a resilient Amusan enquired about other events she could participate in. The organisers suggested the 100 meters hurdles and with the top two automatically selected for a place in the Nigerian team for those games, Amusan figured she had nothing to lose.
“If it is run and jump, I thought I’ll do it. I had played around with hurdles in practice but I had never competed before,” she had said about the change.
She surprised herself and went on to earn silver at the African Youth Games in Botswana in only her second hurdles race.
From then onward, Amusan, like a butterfly reaching a full circulation of metamorphosis, soared above the hurdles and shatter records, and accrued medals.
In 2018, she became the first Nigerian female hurdler to win gold at the Commonwealth Games. She also won gold at the 2018 African Athletics Championship and 2019 All African Games.
The “Almost” Girl Despite her dominance and consistency, Amusan hit the wrong side of luck in major championships between 2019 to 2021.
READ ALSO: 2022 World Athletics: Amusan wins gold, makes history for Nigeria
At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she finished fourth in the final of the women’s 100-meter hurdles with 12.49 seconds.
She also fell short in the final at the Tokyo Olympics when she dipped 12.60 seconds to place fourth in the race.
Amusan was apparently hurt after she was labelled the “almost girl” for all the near misses at the grand stages.
“I know a lot of people have tagged me the ‘almost’ girl. I’ve seen and heard a lot of comments,” she had said.
“It’s just sad knowing that I’m that girl that people tag ‘almost’ and that’s the main force that’s going to drive me next year. I don’t want to be the ‘almost’ girl. I want to be ‘that girl’, the girl that wins every competition.”
Faulty Timer
In 2021, at the Olympics trials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Amusan swooshed easily to the finish line in the women’s 100m hurdles — only to discover that the electronic timer at the stadium had failed to display the time at the end of the race, remaining at 0.00secs.
However, her hand timer recorded that she won the race by dipping 12.3 seconds, which would have erased Gloria Alozie African record of 12.44 seconds set in 1998.
Diamond League
Away from the disappointments of the months before, Amusan’s consistency and hard work paid off in September 2021.
She became the first Nigerian athlete ever to win a World Athletics Diamond League trophy as she placed first in the women’s 100 meters hurdles final.
Amusan clocked 12.42 seconds to break Alozie’s 23-year-old national record and become Africa’s fastest hurdler in the women’s category.
Setting and Breaking African Records
There was no stopping Amusan from there on as she continued to break and set a new African record thrice in a year.
On June 19, the Nigerian set a new African record in the women’s 100 meters hurdles as she dipped 12.41 seconds at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
On July 23, Amusan also set a new African record of 12.40 seconds when she won heat three in the women’s 100m hurdles.
She then reduced the time further in the semi-final to clinch the world record of 12.12 seconds
From sandy tracks of inter-house sports at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu-Ode to the bouncy arena in Hayward Field in Oregon, an accidental hurdler has gone on to become Nigeria’s first-ever world record holder in athletics.
Amusan has also immortalised her name in the history of track and field events.
Host Communities of the Oil Mining Lease (OML-58) in Rivers State have been urged to maintain peace in order to attract the needed development to their areas
Executive Director, Joint Venture Asset, TotalEnergies, Obi Imemba, made the call during the opening ceremony of the 2026 NNPC/TEPNG JV OML-58 annual football tournament for host communities at the Obite Civic Centre in the Ogba/Egbema/Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Imemba, who was represented by TotalEnergies Manager, Stakeholder Management, Henry Ehuike, also called on the leadership of host communities to influence more youths to shun pipeline destruction, drug abuse and other social vices.
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He said the competition, which began in 2002, is one of the ways the NNPC-TPNG joint venture promotes inclusiveness and fosters harmonious relationships among youths of its host communities, bringing them together, thereby promoting peace and unity.
The Executive Director, JV Asset, said the tournament has lived up to expectations as the greatest sporting event in the OML 58 area and in the whole of ONELGA.
“In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 4, which speaks about quality education, the NNPC/TotalEnergies joint venture is determined to further develop true quality professional football training combined with rigorous academic exercise in one of the best football academies in Nigeria for the best talents that would be identified in this competition,” Imemba said.
He noted that the continued sponsorship of the competition in the PIA area is a demonstration of the NNPC-TPNG joint venture’s love for the youths of its operating communities, and a commitment to engaging them in positive ventures that could promote sustainable socio-economic development, as well as empowerment.
He revealed that since the 19th edition in 2022, the joint venture has progressively introduced some areas of improvement with the aim of making the communities derive the best from the competition.
“Permit me to announce to you that in this 23rd edition, there is no single over-age player. All the players are 18 years old and below”, he said.
Imemba mentioned that the services of talent hunters were contracted in the last two years to identify good potential among the players, stating that five players were discovered and are undergoing training in professional football in an academy.
“This year, we have also contracted the services of a football marketer who will market the discovered talents to football clubs,” he said.
He commended the participating youths and host communities, central, local and technical organising committees, the River State Football Association, the River State Football Referee’s Council and media partners, for their commitment to the tournament.
“My advice to the participating team is that you should not be preoccupied with winning. Rather, focus on playing for peace and promoting talent and development,” he said.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Mbakwe Elele, stated that the tournament has been fostering peace within the OML58 host communities and, as well, identifying talent.
No fewer than 18 teams are participating in the tournament.
As part of efforts to advance youth development, peaceful coexistence and stronger community ties, the Dangote Cement Plc has taken its social investment drive to the football pitch, kicking-off its maiden tournament simultaneously at the Ibese and Okpella Plants.
The tournament, fully sponsored by Dangote Cement, brings together young people from communities around the company’s cement operations in Ibese, Okpella, Obajana, and Gboko providing them with an opportunity to showcase their football talents while strengthening relationships across community boundaries.
During the ceremonial kick-off of the Ibese edition, Plant Director, Ayyagari Subbaraidu described the tournament as another demonstration of Dangote Cement’s commitment to the socio-economic development and wellbeing of its host communities.
He said the initiative represented a new dimension in the company’s social investment strategy, complementing interventions in its four key Corporate Social Investment thematic areas of Education, Health, Infrastructure and Empowerment.
READ ALSO: Elohor Aiboni Honoured with DTN@100 Changemaker Award
According to him, the company recognizes the strategic importance of young people within its host communities and the need to provide constructive avenues for their development and engagement. “This football tournament is a new dimension of our social investment strategy, specifically designed to promote youth development, engagement and empowerment,” Subbaraidu said.
“We recognize that young people constitute a significant proportion of the population in our host communities, and we consider it imperative to create meaningful opportunities for their engagement and development.”
The Plant Director explained that the competition was designed to go beyond the excitement of football by creating an inclusive platform through which young people could develop their talents, build relationships and channel their energies towards productive activities.
He added that Dangote Cement was also deploying sports as a proactive instrument for strengthening peaceful coexistence and deepening the company’s relationship with its host communities pointing out that “Beyond football, the tournament is a proactive social investment initiative aimed at promoting peace, strengthening inter-community relationships, fostering unity and deepening trust between Dangote Cement and the host communities,” he stated.
“While the teams may compete for the trophy, the bigger victory lies in the unity, friendship and mutual understanding we hope to establish and build. In the spirit of this, every community is considered a winner in this tournament,” he said.
At Ibese, 17 host communities have come together to form eight teams for the competition, an arrangement Subbaraidu said demonstrated the ability of sports to break down barriers and bring people together across community lines. He said the management is of the view that the tournament could provide opportunities for the identification of promising grassroots footballers who could emerge from the participating host communities and ultimately develop into players capable of competing at national and international levels.
“We believe that great talents can emerge from our communities and that this tournament will provide a platform for discovering and nurturing promising football talents who may eventually go on to shine on national and international stages,” he said.
He urged participating players and officials to embrace sportsmanship, discipline, fairness and mutual respect throughout the competition, warning against violence, confrontation and conduct capable of undermining the objectives of the tournament.
Supporters and spectators were similarly encouraged to conduct themselves responsibly and help create a peaceful and enjoyable atmosphere. “Let competition remain healthy and friendly. Avoid unnecessary confrontations, violence and actions that could result in injuries. I urge players, officials, supporters and spectators to conduct themselves responsibly and contribute to a peaceful and enjoyable tournament,” Subbaraidu said.
The Unity Football Tournament also kicked off at Dangote Cement’s Okpella operation as part of the broader community-focused initiative, with the company seeking to leverage the universal appeal of football to promote stronger relationships with its host communities.
Okpella Plant Director, Mohammed Ismaael said Football has a unique capacity to bring people together irrespective of community, background or social status. Through this tournament, Dangote Cement is creating a platform for our young people to interact positively, demonstrate their talents and build friendships that transcend community boundaries. For us at Okpella, this is not simply a football competition; it is an investment in our youth, peaceful coexistence and the long-term partnership we cherish with our host communities.”
The Okpella tournament reinforces the company’s broader objective of using grassroots sporting activities to complement its established community development programmes and create greater opportunities for young people to participate meaningfully in community life.
The competitions held simultaneously in Ibese and Okpella represent an expansion of Dangote Cement’s host community engagement approach beyond traditional interventions in education, healthcare, infrastructure and economic empowerment, adding sport as a vehicle for youth inclusion, talent discovery, peacebuilding and social cohesion.
Photo Caption: The Olu of Imasayi, His Royal Majesty, Oba (Dr.) Lukman Olalekan Kuoye (centre), signs the match football during the opening ceremony of the maiden Host Communities’ Unity Football Tournament in Ibese.
Spanish football has been thrown into mourning following the death of CD Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died at the age of 30 after suffering serious injuries in a collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during a second-division match.
Tenerife confirmed the player’s death on Tuesday, November 3, revealing that he died at 8:00 a.m. following complications from injuries sustained during the encounter.
The incident occurred towards the closing stages of the match, which was tied at 2-2, when Owono, an Equatorial Guinea international, rushed out of his goal and collided with De Miguel in the middle of the pitch.
SEE ALSO: Spain’s World Cup Joy Turns to Horror as 13-Year-Old Dies in Celebration Disaster
The goalkeeper was sent off following the incident, while the match was subsequently abandoned.
Spanish media reported that De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest after the collision and was resuscitated. However, Tenerife later announced that his neurological condition had deteriorated before he eventually died.
In a statement announcing the tragedy, the club expressed profound sadness over the loss of the striker and extended its condolences to his family, friends and supporters.
“Broken with pain, with a lump in our throat and unable to believe this is real, CD Tenerife announces the tragic death, at 8:00 am (7am GMT), of Jesus de Miguel Alameda,” the club said.
De Miguel joined Tenerife in the summer of 2025 from Castellon and had spent just over a season with the Spanish side.
Tributes have continued to pour in from across Spanish football, including former Barcelona defender and FC Andorra majority shareholder Gerard Pique.
“I am so deeply sorry. Rest in peace, Jesus,” Pique wrote on social media.
FC Andorra also expressed its condolences to De Miguel’s family, teammates and Tenerife, while Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and several other Spanish clubs sent messages of sympathy.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation equally expressed its grief, describing the news as deeply saddening and extending its condolences following the striker’s death.
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