By For many Nigerians, Tobi Amusan is the history-making athlete who secured the country’s first gold at the 2022 World Athletics Championship held in Oregon, United States.
The 25-year-old not only etched her name in the history books, she equally set a new world record in the women’s 100 meters hurdles, finishing in 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals. Amusan crowned her impressive outing with 12.06secs in the finals, but her feat will not be recognised as a world record due to strong wind pressure of 2.5 metres per second.
Like many of other successful sporting talents, Amusan’s rise to international prominence wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a dedicated coach. It’s safe to say, behind every successful athlete is a coach.
Taking to her Facebook page on Thursday, the athlete introduced her coach, Lacena Golding Clarke who recognised her talent in the early days of her career.
“Y’all should meet my lovely coach and second mum, Coach Lacena Golding Clarke. She recruited me while I was back in Nigeria to University of Texas, El Paso when I was running 14.2s and today is history for both of us,” she wrote.
“She was also a world class hurdler during her active days; multiple finalist at the Olympics, World Championships and a Commonwealth Games Champion representing Jamaica. Thank you for everything coach”.
The 47-year-old Clarke, a Jamaican Olympian, recruited Amusan from Nigeria in 2016 bringing her to the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) after the then 18-year-old won the 100m hurdles in a time of 14.26 at the Junior African Championships in March 2015.
Since then, she has been the coach and second mother to the Nigerian athlete.
