Athletics
Oregon World Cup 2022
The Nigerian destroys the best world record in the semifinals
There was no better way to start the afternoon session of the last day of the Oregon World Cup. Even with people looking for their seats in the stands of Hayward Field, the Nigerian Tobi Amusan jumped onto the track to compete in the first semifinal of the 100 meter hurdles, which will be the last individual test of the championships before the outcome of the decathlon and the two 4×400 relays. Nothing foreshadowed what would happen right next.
In a very fast race of all the participants, Amusan surprised by crossing the finish line in 12.12 seconds, new world recordimproving by eight hundredths the record held by the American Kendra Harrison, who came in second at the finish line (12.27) and looked at the clock with the same disbelief as the winner.
Because that is the word that best defines what happened. Disbelief. Amusan couldn’t believe it. The Nigerian looked to beat the African record yesterday, with 12.40, 28 hundredths more, in any case, than the mark with which she surprised the world this Sunday.
Amusan, second in the world ranking after the Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinnbecomes the great favorite to take the world title.
Amusan’s world record is the second achieved in Eugene after the one achieved by Sydney McLaughlin, in this case in the 400 hurdles.
