Tobi Amusan's bio: parents, age, coach, height, cash prize, WORLD RECORD

Tobi Amusan's bio: parents, age, coach, height, cash prize, WORLD RECORD

Helix Odhiambo
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:12 PM

Nigerian Athlete Tobi Amusan recently took the world by storm after clinching the gold medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is also the current African, commonwealth, and world champion in the 100m hurdles.

Tobi Amusan's age
Tobi Amusan of Nigeria reacts to winning gold in the 100m Hurdles final during Athletics Track & Field event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium on 7 August 2022. Photo: Steve Christo
Source: Getty Images

Tobi Amusan's age is just 25 in 2022, but she is already making history in the 100m hurdles. The athlete was born on 23 April 1997 in Ogun State. However, her journey to the top has not been a bed of roses.

Profile summary

Full name

Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan

Date Of Birth

23 April 1997

Age

25 (as of September 2022)

Birthplace

Ogun State, Nigeria

Nationality

Nigerian

Height

1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)

Weight

57 kg (126 lb)

Father

Kehinde Amusan

Education

University of Texas at El Paso

Occupation

Athlete (Track and Field)

Coach

Lacena Golding-Clarke

World ranking

5 (as of September 2022)

Net Worth

$1.5 million

Social media

Instagram, Twitter

Biography

The athlete was born and raised in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. She grew up alongside her three elder brothers. Meanwhile, Tobi Amusan's parents did not support her during the early stages of her career. Tobi's father, Kehinde, a teacher by profession, revealed how they tried to persuade their daughter to drop sports and focus on education.

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"We initially did not support her because we believed someone who was good in the sciences should become either a doctor or a nurse and not a sportsperson. But along the line, when some people saw that she had talent, they took interest in her." Said Kehinde.

Amusan's career

Tobi Amusan's height
Amusan of Nigeria celebrates as she wins the Gold medal in the 100m hurdle final race in the 11th Africa Games in Brazzaville on 15 September 2015. Photo: Monirul Bhuiyan
Source: Getty Images

The Nigerian showed great potential in athletics while growing up. She won several medals during her youth, including Silver at the 2013 African Youth Championships in Warri and gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa.

Tobi made her debut in the ALl-Africa Games in 2015 and took home the gold medal in the 100m hurdles. While at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the athlete won numerous 100m hurdle races and was named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year.

Amusan ran her then lifetime best and UTEP record of 12.63 s in the 100 metres hurdles in her first outdoor race in 2017. She was also the C-USA champion in her specialist event and finished second in the 200m hurdles.

She also won 100m hurdles in the 2018 Commonwealth and 2018 African championships. Toby is also a two-time African Games champion. She won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2021 in the 100m hurdles.

2022 season

The Nigerian opened her 2022 account on a positive note by winning the Diamond League in Paris. She won the race with an African record time of 12.41s. Toby also won gold in the women's 100m hurdles at the 2022 African Championships in Mauritius. However, she finished second in the 2022 Diamond League meet, behind Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

Tobi Amusan's world record

Amusan won the 100m hurdles gold medal at Oregon's 2022 World Athletics Championships. She also set a new world record by running the women's 100m hurdles semi-finals in 12.12s, beating a previous one by American Keni Harrison (12.20secs). In a statement, the World Athletics ratified the record.

"Amusan's 12.12 in the women's 100m hurdles semi-finals, Duplantis's 6.21m in the men's pole vault final and McLaughlin's 50.68 in the women's 400m hurdles final are all now officially in the record books, as is the world U20 mark of 9.94 set by Letsile Tebogo in the men's 100m heats."

Tobi Amusan's cash prize

The Nigerian reportedly took home $170,000 for winning the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. First, she received $70,000 for winning gold and then $100,000 for her 12:12 World Record feat.

Word ranking

Tobi ranks fifth globally as of September 2022, a significant increase from her previous rank of 43rd in September 2021. Her compatriot, Ese Brume, moved from 93rd to 61st in one year.

Who is Tobi Amusan's coach?

The world champion is trained by Lacena Golding-Clarke, a retired female hurdling athlete from Jamaica. Golding-Clarke was born on 20 March 1975 in Clarendon, Jamaica. She represented her country at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

Where does Amusan train?

The athlete began her career in Nigeria, training at local facilities until 2016 when she earned a scholarship to study at the University of Texas at El Paso. She is currently based in Texas, where she is training. Meanwhile, Tobi Amusan's height is 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in), and she weighs 57 kg.

Who sponsors Tobi Amusan?

The reigning African, Commonwealth and World Champion recently signed a management deal with Plug Sports. It is a leading Nigerian-based sport management company owned by The Plug. Other sports personalities managed by Plug Sports include soccer players Henry Onyekuru, Asisat Oshoala and Clement Ugah.

Is Tobi Amusan married?

Tobi is not married and also does not have a boyfriend. She seems dedicated and focused on her career. She also does not have a child.

Tobi Amusan's Instagram

You can access some of Tobi Amusan's pictures on her official Instagram account, which has 175k followers as of September 2022. She also has a verified Twitter account with 108.1k followers.

Tobi Amusan is a fantastic talent to watch. Her journey from a humble beginning in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, to a world champion has inspired many young Africans with dreams. Luckily, she is only 25 and probably has more years to increase her medals.

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Authors
Helix Odhiambo photo
Helix Odhiambo
Helix Odhiambo is an award-winning Kenyan journalist and content creator with over 6 years of experience. In 2016, he won the Goal Blaze Correspondent Award for young writers.