Nigeria’s sprint queen, Tobi Amusan, opened her World Athletics Championships campaign in Tokyo with trademark poise and dominance, breezing through to the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals on Sunday morning.
The world record holder, running in the last of six heats, delivered a flawless start and maintained her rhythm throughout the race, clocking 12.53 seconds. She finished ahead of Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas (12.69s) and Italy’s Elena Carraro (12.86s), with all three advancing comfortably to the next round.
Amusan’s time ranked fifth fastest overall, as Jamaica’s Danielle Williams led the pack with a 12.40s run in heat two. Other strong contenders included Grace Stark of the USA (12.46s), Nadine Visser of the Netherlands (12.48s), Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska (12.51s), and Masai Russell of the USA, who matched Amusan’s 12.53s in heat one.
The Nigerian star has been in sizzling form all season, clocking 12.24s in Paris back in May and finishing second in Oregon with 12.38s in July, firmly establishing herself as one of the leading contenders for gold in Tokyo.
Amusan now turns her attention to reclaiming the world title she lost in 2023. Her name is already etched into athletics folklore: in 2022 at the Oregon World Championships, she shattered the world record in the semifinals with a breathtaking 12.12s before storming to gold in the final, the first-ever world outdoor title for Nigeria.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, Nigeria’s campaign produced mixed fortunes. In the women’s hammer throw, Oyesade Olatoye bowed out in the preliminaries with a best throw of 68.82m, finishing 10th in her group and 21st overall. She joined six other Nigerian athletes who have already exited the competition: discus throwers Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons and Obiageri Pamela Amaechi, long jumpers Ese Brume and Prestina Ochonogor, sprinter Rosemary Chukwuma, and shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi.
Enekwechi, however, provided a silver lining, reaching his third career final in four appearances and finishing fifth, his best-ever result, surpassing his eighth-place debut in 2019.