Amusan wins Nigeria’s first CAA Asaba 2018 gold medal
N@jide_olusola igerian athlete, Oluwatobiloba Amusan has won the country’s first medal at the ongoing 21st Senior Athletics Championship in Asaba 2018.
The 21-year old champion clinched gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles event with 12:86 seconds, while South African runner, Rickenette Steenkamp came second to win silver under 13:18s.
It will be noted that Amusan won gold and bronze in the 100m hurdles and 4 x 100m relays at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. She was the first Nigerian to win Commonwealth 100m hurdles.
She also won the gold medal at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa.
Meanwhile, two Nigerian runners took the top spots in the morning women’s 400m round 1.
Yinka Ajayi defeated South African sprinter, Semenya Caster to win the round 1 under 52:38s while fellow country woman, Patience George took the fourth position running her race under 53:39s.
With the victory, Amusan has qualified to represent Africa at the IAAF Continental Cup at Ostrava in the Czech Republic in September.
“I am not surprised, because I have prepared hard for this all year. I don’t care about timing when it comes to championships.
“So, you really don’t have to focus on time but to go out there and compete,” Amusan said after the race.
She added, “I am really excited to run against the world’s best, even though I have been racing with them all year. But my target at the Continental Cup is to do the best I can.
“After this Championships, I will head back to the U.S., prepare for the next IAAF Diamond League events, such as the ones in Birmingham (UK), Zurich (Switzerland) and Brazil.” Nigeria’s Enekwechi Chukwuebuka also won the gold medal in the men’s shot put, while compatriot Temilola Ogunrinde clinched silver in the women’s hammer throw.