Following confirmation of Nigerian sprint star Tobi Amusan now training in Jamaica, Coach Glen Mills has revealed why the World Record holder decided to learn from his experience.
Official news in Jamaica has confirmed that Nigeria's hurdling queen Tobi Amusan has parted ways with her long-term World Record guiding coach Lacena Golding-Clarke to start training with Usain Bolt's former trainer Glen Mills.
Pulse Sports previously reported that Amusan was secretly taking instructions from renowned coach Glen Mills in Jamaica with hopes of reviving her career, but the speculations are now confirmed.
Coach Mills is celebrated for mentoring sprint legend Usain Bolt to unprecedented success-including world records in the 100m and 200m, eight Olympic gold medals, and 11 World Championship titles between 2008 and 2016.
He also coached Yohan Blake to record-breaking performances and medal-winning moments, highlighted by clocking the second-fastest 100m and 200m times in history behind Bolt.
Amusan's sudden switch comes as a surprise to many as she has been with coach Lacena Golding-Clarke since 2016 - from her college days at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) to her history-making moment at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, where she won the world title and broke the World Record (twice) with legal 12.12s in the semifinals and wind-aided 12.06s in the final.
Unfortunately, since her iconic feats, the 27-year-old has faced several challenges, highlighted by having a missing test doping case battle with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and the World Athletics.
Despite finally being cleared by the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) as not guilty, the Nigerian hurdler has struggled to reach her peak form. First, not medalling at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, and the big dagger of not qualifying for the final at the Paris Olympic Games - the first time since 2016 (Rio Olympics) she failed to make a global championship final.
Meanwhile, Coach Mills has expressed admiration for Amusan's professionalism and dedication since she joined his training group in September.
"It has been a joy working with her because she is a true professional," Mills shared. "She brings to the table an approach that is really refreshing. People believe that I don't coach women, but I have had experience with quite a few. I had (Olympic gold medalist) Aleen [Bailey] for a year back in the day, and also people like [Olympian] Cathy Rattray and Olympic medalist Kerron Stewart," said coach Mills in an interview with sportsmax.tv.
"She works very hard, she is very conscientious, and I can see why she is the world record holder. She brings that to the table in how she approaches her training, and she is easy to get along with," Mills added.
"We discuss our strategies from time to time. It's been a nice experience; she is into it and enjoying it. Already, I have seen improvement, and she is excited about it because she feels like she is making more progress."
Mills also revealed that Amusan had specific aspects of her technique she wanted to address, and their collaboration has been fruitful. "There were certain things she wanted us to work on, and it's going well."
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