The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged Tobi Amusan, the 100-meter hurdles world record holder, to be strong after failing to successfully defend her world title at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
On Thursday, August 24, Tobi Amusan, who won gold in 100-meter hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA, lost the title to Jamaican Danielle Williams.
Amusan managed to finish 6th in 12.62 seconds, which was a far cry from the wind-aided 12.06 seconds that she used to win gold last year.
Despite the defeat, Mrs Tinubu urged Amusan via a tweet she shared on Friday, August 25, to “return home to refresh yourself for the victory that awaits you.”
“Well done, our beloved Tobi. We are proud of you. Return home to refresh yourself for the victory that awaits you”, the Nigerian first lady added.
Amusan had a fantastic run on the way to Thursday’s final despite only gaining approval to compete from the Athletics Integrity Unit two days before the World Athletic Championship got underway.
Amusan recognized that it had been difficult for her to reach the final and described it as quite “a journey getting into the final” despite everything she had been through weeks before the competition.
Tobi Amusan’s defeat means that team Nigeria has not recorded any medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships after day 6.
