Posted by Amarachi on Tue 26th Nov, 2024 - tori.ng
The World record holder was honoured alongside fellow athletes Beto Bautista (men’s basketball), Izabela Piekarska (women’s basketball), Tony Tolbert (football), and Brandon Wolfram (men’s basketball) during the school’s 21st induction ceremony on October 15.
Tobi Amusan
Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles, Tobi Amusan, has been inducted into the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) Hall of Fame, an honour she received seven years after she graduated from the institution.
The World record holder was honoured alongside fellow athletes Beto Bautista (men’s basketball), Izabela Piekarska (women’s basketball), Tony Tolbert (football), and Brandon Wolfram (men’s basketball) during the school’s 21st induction ceremony on October 15.
In her announcement on Sunday, the 27-year-old expressed her pride, stating, “I humbly introduce to you the youngest female miner to be inducted into UTEP’s Hall Of Fame Class of 2024. Three semesters as a miner and the rest is…great is God’s faithfulness.”
Reflecting on her time at UTEP from January 2016 to August 2017, Amusan expressed heartfelt gratitude towards her coaches, teammates, and the staff that supported her journey: “I received a full-ride scholarship that allowed me to focus on maximizing my athletic abilities while studying full-time. It truly took a village; I cherished every moment of being a student-athlete. To my friends and teammates from the class of 2016/2017, I love you all.”
In addition to her recent honour, Tobi Amusan was inducted into the Conference USA Hall of Fame in 2023. Competing for the Miners between 2016 and 2017, she made a notable impact by winning the national title in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.57 seconds at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Throughout her collegiate career, she earned three All-American titles and was a runner-up at the NCAA Championships in 2016.
Amusan’s accomplishments include being a five-time Conference USA champion and holding school records in both the indoor 60m hurdles (7.98 seconds) and the outdoor 100m hurdles (12.57 seconds).
Currently, she holds the world record in the 100m hurdles with an impressive time of 12.1 seconds, achieved during the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, where she also secured the world title, making her Nigeria’s first-ever world champion in athletics.
Her athletic career has seen her represent Nigeria at three Olympic Games, and she has claimed titles as a four-time African Games champion, five-time African champion, three-time Diamond League winner (in 2021, 2022, and 2023), and a two-time Commonwealth Games champion (in 2018 and 2022).