The women's 100-meter hurdles world record was broken by Nigerian Tobi Amusan in the semifinals of the world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon. Nearly two hours later, she won the final by moving even faster.
Amusan, who finished fourth at the 2018 world championships and the Tokyo Olympics, ran 12.12 seconds in the semifinals on Sunday at Hayward Field.
She won the final in 12.06 seconds, but with too much momentum for a record. Britany Anderson of Jamaica claimed silver, followed by Olympic gold champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.
Amusan cut eight hundredths off American Keni Harrison's 2016 world record of 12.20. It's the biggest time drop for a world record in the race in 42 years.
"At first, I thought, where is the wind reading?" Amusan stated (the wind speed was +.9 meters per second, significantly below the two-meter requirement). "But I wasn't bothered because the goal is to be the first to cross the line."
Amusan's previous personal best was 12.40, which he set in the first round of the international championships on Saturday.
According to World Athletics, Amusan became a hurdler by happenstance. She went to a meet when she was 13 or 14 years old, planning to compete in the flat sprints and long jump. However, by the time she arrived, the only event remaining was a hurdles race. She won that race, and the rest — particularly what happened on Sunday night — is now history.