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Paris 2024: Tobi Amusan and the Olympic Dream

Paris 2024: Tobi Amusan and the Olympic Dream

Tobi Amusan

In the years leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Tobi Amusan has relentlessly worked to improve her craft, making her deserving of a spot on the Paris podium.

By Olaitan Junaid

It’s 2024, the year of the Paris Olympics. The event, scheduled to be held between July 26th and August 11th, has athletes from all over the world burning their time on tracks, gathering the right amount of muscle, and fine-tuning their craft. As the most appealing sports event in the world, the Olympics is especially significant. It is where champions are made, dreams are realised, and hopes are renewed. No athlete going into the Olympics is without a resolution, however, relative it may be. 

Speaking of neophytes in the sport, the goal is to simply make the team. For reigning Olympic champions, it is a successful title defence. Between these extremes are athletes with even more ambitious resolutions. These athletes have national and various intercontinental titles, with the Olympic title being the only one missing from their collection. For this class of athletes, the dream goes beyond making the Olympic team of their respective countries, to include finishing top of the podium. It is in this class of athletes that Nigeria’s sprint export, Tobi Amusan, is situated.

Tobi Amusan is a world-class sprinter in the women’s 100m hurdles. Since winning her maiden global title, the Nigerian-born US-based sprint star has been unrelenting in her pursuit of excellence. Amongst many other things, she is a three-time African Games champion, a two-time African champion, and a two-time Commonwealth Games champion. 

Tobi Amusan
Tobi Amusan (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

In 2023, she made history by becoming the first non-American sprint hurdler – male or female – to win the Diamond League (DL) trophy three consecutive times. Currently, Amusan holds the World Record (WR) in the women’s 100m hurdles, a title she had claimed at Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA), having run a 12.12 seconds at the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships (WC). 

More than anyone else, the Olympic year is especially important in the trajectory of Amusan’s sprint career. In the years leading up to it, Amusan has risen against all odds, acquiring all that there is to achieve in her sport. However, still missing from the 27-year-old’s collection is the Olympic title, the prize for which she now sets out in pursuit.

On January 27th, Tobi Amusan began her long journey to the podium in Paris at the Astana Indoor Meet in Kazakhstan. Being her season opener, one would expect a modest performance from her. Not only that, one would also expect her not to finish in the top three, owing to the fact that the race is only 60 meters long and Amusan is more of a finisher than a starter.

But Tobi Amusan was nowhere close to rusty getting into the race. From the way she powered through from start to finish, one could tell that she had only picked up from where she left off in 2023. Amusan’s start out of the blocks was decent, and she led the race right from the second barrier, moving even further away from the field as the race progressed. In a time of 7.77s, Amusan crossed the finish line to take the win

The first outcome of the race was a Personal Best (PB). The second was an overhaul of the women’s 60m Area Record (AR) of Glory Alozie, set at a time of 7.82s in Madrid. Just four days into the following month, Amusan would retire her recently set AR at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. This was after she had finished in a time of 7.75s, behind America’s Tia Jones, who took the win in a time of 7.72s. 

Tobi Amusan
Tobi Amusan

Following what appeared to be a successful indoor tour, Amusan launched her outdoor season at the 13th African Games. Going into the games, which was hosted in Ghana between the 8th and 23rd of March, she was declared the favourite to win in her event. So, it was only expected that Amusan would finish with a win, which she did easily. In her heat, she jogged 13.03s, just enough to secure her a spot in the finals, and in a time of 12. 89s, Amusan crossed the finish line to take the title for the third consecutive time. 

From Ghana, all roads led up to China, where she was scheduled for two meets. The events, which were in part with the DL circuit, were slated for April 20 in Xiamen and April 27 in Suzhou. At the Xiamen meet, she didn’t have the best race. Not only did she have a sluggish start, but struggled to catch up with a faster field, resulting in a 5th-place finish. However, it was only a matter of days before Amusan was able to redeem herself. 

At the Suzhou meet, she witnessed the most chaotic race of her life, having earned a disqualification for a false start. From behind, she ran down the pack and caught up right at the line. Although she didn’t get to take the win, as she had proceeded into the race under protest, her performance was a testament to her resilience and determination.

In all the countries she has made an appearance this year, Jamaica holds a special place in her heart, which she has spoken about on several occasions. Jamaica is the home of her coach, Lacena Golding-Clarke, and the reigning World Champion, Daniel Williams, who is her favourite person in the hurdle crew. No wonder that at the Jamaican Athletics Invitational scheduled for May 11, Tobi Amusan was very much relaxed. She crossed the line first in a race well put together, clocking a Season’s Best (SB) of 12.40s.

To think that Amusan would lower her SB or at least win her next race would be wrong. Not only did the global sprint star fail to replicate the form displayed on the Jamaican field, but she also ran a slower time, finishing second to America’s Kendra Harrison, who won in a time of 12.69s. At the 2024 Adidas Atlanta City Games, Amusan ran a time of 12.73s. She continued in this form at the Nigerian National Trials, where she claimed her fourth consecutive national title in an even slower time of 12.78s.

In the years leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Amusan has relentlessly worked to improve her craft, making her deserving of a spot on the Paris podium. However, whether she will secure that spot remains uncertain due to the depth of competition in the women’s sprint hurdles in the last few years. 

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So far in the Olympic year, the women’s 100m sprint hurdles have witnessed numerous outstanding performances. All around the world, women hurdlers in the 100m are running fast times and lowering their personal bests. At present, eleven women have run faster than Tobi Amusan, eight of whom are scheduled to compete for the Olympic title in Paris. With the World Lead (WL) being set at 12.25s, there is no doubt that she will have to improve on her SB to be a major contender for gold in Paris.

Whether Tobi Amusan will finish on top of the podium in Paris or not is dependent on the state of her physical and mental health. The hurdle is a highly locomotive sprint event, requiring running, hopping, and jumping—all of which can only be effectively executed when an athlete is physically fit. Due to the active bodily movements involved, it is almost impossible to perform well in the sprint hurdles without being in top form. 

Tobi Amusan - Afrocritik
Tobi Amusan

Now that the competition is even more fierce, advancing far in a sprint hurdle event requires being in the best possible shape. So far this year, Tobi Amusan has proven to be physically fit. She has also had eight appearances, more than that of anyone else in the event. Beyond her testament on the state of her physical health, her ability to remain competitive despite her many appearances is not only proof of her commitment to set goals. It is, in fact, evidence of the quality of her physical health. 

Besides the physical aspect, an athlete’s mental strength significantly determines their potential for a podium finish. Without the right mental attitude, navigating an event as huge as the Olympics can be overwhelming. Mental fortitude is frequently linked to excellent sprint performances. It is also proven that efficiency is lost when quality physical health cannot be complemented with quality mental health.

The Paris Olympics isn’t Amusan’s first, neither is it her second appearance. She had represented Nigeria at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but couldn’t go beyond the semi-finals. Four years later, at the Tokyo Olympics, Tobi Amusan made the finals, finishing 4th, just outside the medals. Between 2021 and now, so much has happened. Amusan has earned a World Championship title and three Diamond League titles, all while holding the World Record in the women’s 100m hurdles. 

With such an elite profile, one cannot but expect Tobi Amusan to not only have the physical and mental capacity but also the experience to navigate the rigours of the Olympic field, securing, in the end, the title for which she so dreams.

Olaitan Junaid is a writer from Nigeria. Currently, he lives in Ibadan where he serves as an Editorial Intern.

Cover photo credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images

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