Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has congratulated newly crowned world record holder and gold medalist in the Women 100 meters hurdles event, Oluwatobilola Amusan, following her feat at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America.
Amusan broke the 100m hurdles World Record in the semi-finals with an astonishing 12.12s and followed up with a (+2.5) wind-assisted 12.06s in the final.
The time in the final would not be recognised as it was well over the legal +2.0 wind assist allowed in Athletics.
Before then, she had run 12.40s in the heat to set a new African Record.
Her achievement in the early hour of Monday means Amusan has become Nigeria’s first ever World Champion in athletics.
Reacting to the success, Dare, while congratulating the new Worlds Champion, also praised Ese Brume, who also finished on the podium in the Long Jump with a leap of 7.02m to claim silver medal.
He said, “I am so proud of what Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume, and even those who didn’t get on the podium have achieved in Eugene, Oregon. This is the beginning of great things for Nigerian athletics. This is a new dawn.
“Years of hard work and consistently knocking on the door has yielded the right dividends. For the first time in our history, we have a World Champion. This is huge. Congratulations to Nigeria.”
The Minister also highlighted a few other positive results for Team Nigeria, even though they did not end in podium finishes.
Dare said, “For me, these medals are not the only positives from the World Championships. The 4×100m relay teams(men and women)showed a lot of promise for the future.
“The women barely got here as the 16th best team in the world, but they got so close to getting on the podium; the men also gave it their best shot and showed they have a bright future.
“Our athletes in the short sprints also showed character. Some of them are competing on a high-level stage like this for the first time, rubbing shoulders with experienced and tournament-tested veterans and legends and not falling too far behind in extremely tough situations.
“They can beat their chests and be proud of what they have achieved. We now have the responsibility to continue to support them by creating the right environment for their growth.”
