Amusan: How relocating to Jamaica and training with Glen Mills have renewed my motivation

Tobi Amusan says she feels very much at home in Kingston, Jamaica after leaving Lacena Golding-Clarke, the assistant coach at Auburn University that trained to her historic World 100m hurdles title and 12.12 World record to relocate her training base to the city and country that produced the great Usain Bolt.

According to Sportsmaxtv, the Nigerian says the opportunity to train under world renowned and legendary coach Glen Mills at Racers Track Club has been ‘transformative, both physically and mentally.’

Mills trained Bolt to multiple World and Olympic titles as well as World records.

‘It (Kingston) feels like home. Everyone there has been so welcoming. Great training group, great coaches—everything has just clicked. I’m really happy to be where I feel I belong,’ said the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and record holder.

The 28 year old says she has renewed hope for the future after her misadventure to the Paris 2024 Olympics where she failed to make it to the final of the 100m finals after finishing fourth three years earlier in Tokyo, Japan.

‘Paris was tough—I was in a dark place. But with the help of my family, mentors, and the environment I’ve found here, I’ve been able to get back to training and slowly rebuild into being Tobi again,’ she admitted in a report by Sportsmaxtv.

Amusan is yet to hit the heights she reached in 2021 and 2022 after finishing fourth both in Xiamen (12.74) and Kepaio (12.66) in the opening two legs of the 2025 Diamond League meetings.

She also ran a wind-assisted 12.53 to finish second in her heat at the Atlanta City Games last week but the reigning African Games queen says she is focused on refining her speed and execution and has been competing in open sprint events as part of her buildup.

‘I’ve done more sprinting than hurdling so far this year, and it’s really showing in my races. When the hurdling catches up to the sprinting, it’s going to come together nicely.

‘I love sprinting. But hurdling is my thing. Thankfully, with the training group I’m in now, I can combine both—speed development and technical work. It’s the best of both worlds,’ she said.

Amusan is not expected on the Diamond League train until middle of next month when the 100m hurdles returns at the BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Nigeria is looking to reclaim the Diamond League title she lost without putting up a fight in 2024 and the World title she failed to successfully defend in 2023.