Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan, AKA Tobi Amusan, was born on 23 April 1997 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. She started running in athletics during secondary school and later got a scholarship to study and compete at the University of Texas at El Paso in the United States.
She’s Yoruba and a Christian. She specialises in the 100 metres hurdles and also runs sprints. Over the years, she has won multiple titles at the Commonwealth Games, African Championships, and the Diamond League.
She made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win a World Championship gold medal and set the world record in the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA. Today, she is recognised as one of the top hurdlers and sprinters in the world.
Tobi Amusan’s Family
Tobi Amusan is the youngest of three children. Her parents, Mr Kehinde Amusan and Mrs Amusan, were both teachers. Her father came from a family in Ogun State. He wanted her to focus on school and was careful about her doing sports, even hoping she would study medicine.
Her mother liked that Tobi loved athletics from early on. She encouraged her and sometimes helped her get to training, even when her dad wanted her at school or church.
Tobi has two older siblings. Her sister Adenike became a medical doctor after studying at the University of Lagos, and her brother Adetutu is an engineer who also graduated from the University of Lagos. Both generally keep a low profile compared to Tobi.
Education
Tobi Amusan started school at Golden Gate Primary School in her hometown, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. She then moved on to Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in the same town, where she began to show both her smarts and her athletic talent.
After finishing secondary school, she got a scholarship to the University of Texas at El Paso in the United States. There, she juggled her studies with track and field, earning a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion with a minor in Nutrition in 2019.
She kept going at UTEP, and in May 2023, she finished a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and Sports Management.
Career and Achievements
Tobi Amusan made her mark in athletics as a teenager. In 2013, she won silver in the 200 metres at the African Youth Championships in Warri. The next year, she switched to the 100 m hurdles and took silver at the African Youth Games. By 2015, she won gold in the 100 m hurdles at the African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa and at the All-Africa Games at just 18.
In 2016, she joined the University of Texas at El Paso, won C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year, claimed gold in the 100 m hurdles and 200 m, and broke the 13-second barrier with 12.83 s. She reached the semifinals at the Rio Olympics and was runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In 2017, she ran a personal best of 12.63 s outdoors, became C-USA hurdles champion, and won the NCAA Outdoor Championship with 12.57 s, beating Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. She also competed at the World Championships in London.
In 2018, she ran 7.89 s indoors for the 60 m hurdles and reached the World Indoor Championships final. She won gold in the 100 m hurdles and bronze in the 4 × 100 m relay at the Commonwealth Games, then took double gold at the African Championships. In 2019, she defended her African Games title and set a personal best of 12.48 s at the World Championships in Doha, finishing fourth.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she finished fourth in the 100 m hurdles with 12.60 s and later became Nigeria’s first Diamond League champion with an African record of 12.42 s in Zürich.
World Record and Major Titles
2022 was a breakthrough year. She defended her African Championships titles, set a new African record of 12.41 s at the Diamond League in Paris, and broke the world record in the semi-finals at the World Championships in Eugene with 12.12 s, becoming Nigeria’s first world champion in athletics. She also defended her Commonwealth Games title with 12.30 s, helped Nigeria win the 4 × 100 m relay, and won the Zürich Diamond League final with a meet record of 12.29 s.
In 2023, she ran a season best of 12.34 s at the Silesia Diamond League, was cleared after a provisional suspension over missed anti-doping controls, and finished sixth at the World Championships in Budapest.
Major Medals
World Athletics Championships
- 2022 (Eugene, USA): Gold – Women’s 100m hurdles (World record 12.12s in semi-final, 12.06s wind-aided in final)
- 2025 (Tokyo, Japan): Silver – Women’s 100m hurdles (12.29s)
Commonwealth Games
- 2018 (Gold Coast, Australia): Gold – Women’s 100m hurdles
- 2022 (Birmingham, UK): Gold – Women’s 100m hurdles (Games record 12.30s)
African Championships in Athletics
- 2018 (Asaba, Nigeria): Gold – 100m hurdles
- 2022 (Port Louis, Mauritius): Gold – 100m hurdles
African Games/All-African Games
- 2015 (Brazzaville, Congo): Gold – 100m hurdles
- 2019 (Rabat, Morocco): Gold – 100m hurdles
- 2024 (Accra, Ghana): Gold – 100m hurdles
- 2024 (Accra, Ghana): Gold – 4×100m relay
Diamond League Titles
- 2021, 2022, 2023: Diamond League 100m hurdles overall champion
Earlier Career/Junior Medals
- 2013: Silver – 200m hurdles, African Youth Championships
- 2014: Silver – 100m hurdles, African Youth Games
- 2015: Gold – 100m hurdles, African Junior Championships
Relationship, Husband/Boyfriend, Children
Tobi Amusan has generally kept her personal life private. She’d made it clear in interviews that her main focus was her athletics career. She once said the right man would come at the right time, that she was not rushing into anything serious.
She is not known to be in a romantic relationship. Some gossip blogs have mentioned a name like Seyi Alao as a rumoured ex-boyfriend, but none of this has ever been confirmed.
She is not married, and there is no information about her having a husband. She also does not have a child.
Net Worth
Tobi Amusan’s estimated net worth is about US $1.5 million as of 2025–2026. Her wealth started with prize money from competitions. Winning races and breaking records, like the 100 m hurdles world record, brought cash rewards and bonuses.
She also earned appearance fees and Diamond League money, which paid athletes just for showing up and for top finishes.
Endorsement deals came next. She partnered with Nigerian and international brands, including banks, telecoms and fintech companies, earning from ambassador roles and adverts.
Her achievements also brought rewards from the government and private bodies, including cash and a house from Ogun State.