Tobi Amusan bags master’s degree from top U.S. university

Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in the women’s 100 metres hurdles, has bagged a master’s degree from a university in the United States.

Amusan graduated with a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and Sports Management at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), where she obtained her first degree in 2019. She majored in health promotion and minored in nutrition. 

The world-class athlete announced the news on social media on Thursday, May 18, 2023, while narrating how she prepared her mind for her academic journey at the university that was founded in 1914.

According to her, the new journey was challenging but she pulled through with the support of people around her whom she acknowledged in her Instagram post. Amusan thanked God for her latest achievement.

The 25-year-old put the world on notice in 2022 when she became Nigeria’s first track and field world record holder when she ran 12.12 seconds in the semifinals of the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Oregon, USA. She went on to run a wind-assisted of 12.06s (2.6m/s) in the final. The wind speed prevented the time from being ratified as a world record.

Amusan continued her blistering run of form by adding the Commonwealth and Diamond League titles to her collection. She raced to a Commonwealth Games record time of 12.30s and a 12.29s meet record to successfully defend both titles.

With her accomplishment, Amusan became the first world champion to win gold in the event and the first Nigerian athlete to be crowned champion at all levels of athletics in the same year.

In 2023, she became the first Nigerian to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award in the Breakthrough of the Year category.

Amusan was among 36 outstanding Nigerians in