Commonwealth Games ¦ Tobi Amusan Wins 100m Hurdles Gold For Team Nigeria

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has secured another Gold medal for team Nigeria with Games record of 12:30 on Sunday.

Tobiloba Ayomide Amusan has now become the first Nigeria track and field athlete and the second in history to successfully defend a Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles title.

The petite, 25-year-old Nigerian also set a new 12.30 seconds Games record on the way to winning the event’s gold.

Amusan, the reigning World champion and world record holder in the event also became the first Nigerian track and field athlete to win a gold medal at two editions of the Games.

With the gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Amusan has now become the only Nigerian athlete in history to complete a grand slam of titles at the continental, Commonwealth and world levels after winning gold at the 22nd African Athletics championships in Mauritius in June and the World Athletics championships in Oregon, USA last month.

Amusan’s triumph means Team Nigeria have now secure ten gold medals in Birmingham, and are on course to match the record of gold medals won by their predecessors at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada.

In 1994, Team Nigeria won 11 gold medals, which none of the country’s teams afterwards have been able to match ever since.

Now 28 years later, a new generation of athletes are looking to make their nation proud and are as close to equalling the record as setting a new record should they make it 12 gold wins.

A notable contrast would be that unlike in 1994 the men dominated proceedings, winning nine out of the 11 gold medals at the global tournament, and winning 31 out of the total 37 medals while the women won just six.

At this years’ edition, however, the women have grabbed all the headlines, and have rewritten the history books. And what better way to do that than to win the first gold medal of the tournament as Adijat Olarinoye set a new Commonwealths Games record to claim gold in weightlifting.

The female athletes have since then won all ten of Nigeria’s gold medals at the Games in Birmingham, and a total of 22 medals, while the male athletes have won just silver and bronze medals.

Weightlifting has proven to be a ‘goldmine’ event for Nigeria just like in 1994 when six of the 11 gold medals came from the category with the men winning all.

Oliver Toby (152.5kg), Najite Ogboju (125.0kg), Moji Oluwa (165.0kg and 295.0kg), Lawal Riliwan (132.5kg), and Christopher Onyezier (155.0kg) all set Games Record in the tournament in Victoria, Canada.

This year, however, athletics and wrestling have produced three medals each, while weightlifting won two medals.

With the potential for more medals in weightlifting and wrestling already closed as both events have been finalised, athletics can earn Nigeria more medals in Birmingham, while also breaking the record of six medals won by the 1994 weightlifting team.

Team Nigeria has already qualified for five final day events and could end the competition with a lot more than the previous record, should they stay on course. Again, women lead in qualifications for the final day.

World Athletics Championships silver medallist, Ese Brume, and Ruth Usoro have also qualified for the Women’s Long Jump final, while Chinecherem Nnamdi will also be in action in the Men’s Javelin final.

Elizabeth Oshoba is also in competition for gold, facing Northern Ireland’s Michaela Walsh in the final bout of the Women’s Featherweight (54kg-57kg) boxing competition.