Seven things we saw last week | Amusan leads the world, Buffon gets to 1000 as Vettel outlasts Hamilton

Amusan runs world-leading time in 100m hurdles

Tobi Amusan raced to the fastest time in the world in 2017 in the 100m hurdles as she smashed her Personal Best (PB) when she recorded 12.63s in the 100m Hurdles. Amusan thus eclipsed the world’s fastest time of 12.78s set by USA’s Kori Carter on March 18.

In an interview with El Paso Times, the African Games Champion disclosed that she did not initially have an idea of how fast she ran, but knew she executed well: “I didn’t have any idea. It felt so good, so easy. I wasn’t surprised,” she told the El Paso Times. “It felt good, I just didn’t have anybody to push me. I was all by myself.” And that is saying something…what if she had some real competition?

Podolski retires from Germany national team with a thunderbolt

There could not have been a better script for Lukas Podolski’s retirement from the German national football team than scoring the only goal against England. The 31-year-old won his 130th cap and scored his 49th goal in a 13-year career that has seen him win the World Cup. “I want to personally say thank you for 13 awesome years on and off the pitch – you fans have played a big part in that. We win 1-0, I get the goal. This is like in the film. The dear God or someone else has given me this left foot, which I could always trust.”

Odey scores his 12th league goal

Stephen Odey is fast becoming the only talk in town after his two successful penalty kicks against Rivers United took his Lagos-based team to the head of the NPFL in its 14th week. Odey, 19, is in line to break the record of 23 goals scored in one season by Mfon Udoh, if he continues to score at the present rate.

Nadal plays 1000th professional match

Not many players get to play 100 professional tennis matches but Rafael Nadal reached that milestone at the Miami Open, where he was able to prevail after getting a ‘bagel’ in the first set. Bagel means beaten to love – he lost the first set to Philip Kohlschreiber 6-0, before eking out a 6-2 6-3 comeback. It was also his 822nd professional win in a select group of tennis players headed by Jimmy Connors, who played 1,535 matches.

Buffon reaches 1000-match milestone

Gianluigi Buffon is a football legend whichever way you measure it. The 39-year-old has won more Serie A titles as a goalkeeper – 7, coupled with winning the World Cup. The only other accolade that is missing from the trophy showcase is the Champions League, for which he is a two-time beaten finalist. He has said he would retire from the national team after the 2018 World Cup but on current form, he could play another 500 matches.

Booker scored 70 points for a part in NBA history

Devin Booker, 20, joined the pantheon of NBA greats when he hit 70 points for the Phoenix Suns against Boston Celtics, even though his effort could not guarantee a win. The Celtics prevailed 130-120. Booker, whose previous career best was 39, thus joins players like Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson and Elgin Baylor are the NBA’s only other 70-point scorers

And finally…

Vettel outlasts Hamilton in Australia

The first weekend of the 2017 Formula 1 season was one that had everything – fast cars, erroneous pit stops and throwing of tantrums and all that means the season would be a tight one. Lewis Hamilton, who had the fastest practice time had to settle for second place behind Sebastian Vettel but the Briton is enthused about the potential of the season’s fight ahead. “You are seeing the best against the best. I am really grateful to have that fight with him,” Hamilton added.

Last line: Be optimistic about the challenge ahead of you this week – it can only spur you to be better.