EUGENE, Ore. — Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan set a world record hardly anyone saw coming, crossing the line in the semifinal heat of the women’s 100-meter hurdles Sunday in 12.12 seconds at the world championships.
The 25-year-old, who finished fourth at last year’s Olympics, held her arms out in amazement when she saw the time flash, then threw them to the heavens before sharing a hug with Jamaica’s Danielle Williams.
The wind was legal at 0.9 meters per second.
Amusan broke the six-year-old record of 12.20 seconds held by Keni Harrison, who was in the same heat and finished second.
In 2016, Harrison also broke the record under unusual circumstances — in London, a week before the Olympics started after she had failed to qualify for the U.S. team heading to Rio de Janeiro.
There was hardly any time to celebrate for the one-time hurdler at UTEP who considers Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce her hero. The gold-medal race was set for about 90 minutes after she exited the track.
Amusan’s record came on the opening race of an evening session expected to be headlined by the Americans. The U.S. came into the evening with 28 medals and needed three to break the world championships record. Races on the schedule included the men’s and women’s 4x400 relays and the women’s 800 meters, all of which the U.S. had a good chance to win.
Amusan’s was the second world record broken at the championships. Two days earlier, American Sydney McLaughlin ran 50.68 to break her own mark in the women’s 400 hurdles.
