Two Nigerian sprinters, Tobi Amusan and Favour Ofili, made history at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, USA on Sunday, by setting new African records in their respective events.
Tobi Amusan, the reigning world champion and world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, continued her sensational indoor season by clocking 7.75s in the 60m hurdles, breaking her own continental mark of 7.77s that she set just a week ago at the Astana Indoor Meet in Kazakhstan.
Amusan finished second in a thrilling race that saw USA’s Tia Jones run a world lead and meeting record time of 7.72s, just 0.04s shy of the world indoor record.
Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton came third in 7.77s, while USA’s Massia Russell was fourth in 7.84s. It was the first time in history that four women ran below 7.85s in one race.
Favour Ofili, who is in her first season as a professional athlete after signing with Adidas, also impressed in the women’s 300m, running a lifetime best of 35.99s to set a new African record.
21-year-old Ofili placed second behind USA’s Gabby Thomas, the world 200m silver medallist, who won in a world leading 35.75s.
Ofili smashed the Nigerian record of 36.53s set by Christy Opara and the African record of 36.33s set by Botswana’s Amantle Montsho 14 years ago.
In the women’s long jump, two more Nigerians, Ese Brume and Ruth Usoro, also competed and finished third and fourth respectively.
Brume, the world bronze medallist and African record holder in the outdoor event, leaped 6.58m, while Usoro, the NCAA champion, jumped 6.50m.
The event was won by USA’s Tara Davis-Woodhall, who soared to a world-leading and meeting record distance of 6.86m, followed by her compatriot Quanesha Burks, who leaped 6.64m.
The performances of the Nigerian athletes at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix show their readiness for the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland and the Paris Olympic Games later this year.
