Excelling in academics while thriving in professional sports is a rare feat, but Tobi Amusan, the world record-holding hurdler, has managed to do both seamlessly.
Many athletes struggle to balance education and their sporting careers, often prioritising one over the other.
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However, Tobi’s journey is a testament to determination, discipline, and divine guidance.
In an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Amusan, Tobi’s mother, shared how she played a pivotal role in helping her daughter maintain an excellent academic record while pursuing her dreams on the track.
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She detailed the strict academic routines, unwavering parental support, and deep-rooted family values that shaped Tobi’s success story.
A gruelling academic routine
Education was a non-negotiable priority in the Amusan household from an early age.
Mrs Amusan ensured Tobi followed an intense academic schedule alongside her athletic training.
“In school, she (Tobi) had to partake in two lessons. Before coming home, that is two lessons itself and private teacher lessons. I got a teacher for them in the school to take care of them,” she explained.
“After that one, she has to go to another lesson, making it three lessons after school. So from there, you come back, that’s just to balance going to the stadium and reading. So, it’s God doing,” she added.
Parental support and divine guidance
Beyond the structured academic schedule, Mrs Amusan emphasised the importance of strong parental guidance in shaping Tobi’s character and success.
While she played a crucial role in advising and supporting her daughter, she attributes Tobi’s journey to divine intervention.
“I must be sincere with you. It is God’s doing. It is marvellous in our sight. I am not the one who assisted Tobi. The Lord did it. My own was to advise her, know where you are going to, remember the child of whom you are, don’t let me regret it that I said I was sending you on an errand, meanwhile you were going for training,” she said.
She recalled how Tobi’s honesty and discipline set her apart from a young age.
“If you send her on an errand, even before the advent of mobile phones, if she doesn’t see what she was sent to buy and attends training, she can tell her coaches to borrow her their phones to call me that she couldn’t get what she was sent to buy. I know the time she calls, and if I tell her not to buy anything else before I turn, she’s already back in the shop with me,” she said.
Education as a family priority
For the Amusan family, education was not just important—it was a fundamental pillar of success.
Both parents were firm believers in the power of education and ensured their daughter never lost sight of her academic goals, no matter how demanding her sporting commitments were.
“She has never complained for once due to the seeming workload whenever she goes for training after lessons. Because I had already told her that if she wants to be an athlete, she must be ready to read. There must be time for study, because her father wants her to be educated, same as myself because I as well did,” Mrs Amusan noted.
“Education is the simplest tool one can acquire without stress, and whoever is educated can never suffer. I keep saying that God did it; it’s not by my power.”
Overcoming challenges in school and sports
Tobi’s journey wasn’t without challenges. Her academic path required sacrifices, especially when her sporting commitments clashed with exams.
“It really affected her because there was a particular time they were going for school sports outside the state. So the exam, which she was supposed to do for like a week or two weeks, they asked her to do it at once, on a stretch, and you know how it will be. Somebody that is always at the front now will be at the middle,” she recalled.
“But thank God, there was nothing like carryover. With the help of God, she was able to pass and continue with her academic performance after she returned from school sports.”
ALSO READ: Tobi Amusan inducted into University of Texas El Paso’s Hall of Fame
Her academic journey eventually led her from Ijagun in Ijebu-Ode to the University of Texas in the US, where she pursued her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
She attended Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in her hometown (Ijebu Ode).
In May 2023, Tobi earned a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and Sports Management at the University of Texas at El Paso, United States.
“All of this is the Lord’s doing,” Mrs Amusan concluded.
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