Tobi Amusan wins silver at World Athletics Championships

Nigeria’s sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan claimed silver in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Monday, September 15, narrowly missing out on gold to Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji.

Kambundji, 23, stunned the field with a blistering run of 12.24 seconds, setting a new national record and securing Switzerland’s first-ever world title in the event. Amusan, the 2022 world champion and world record holder, followed closely in 12.29 seconds to earn Nigeria’s 12th medal in World Championships history.

The bronze medal went to American Grace Stark, who clocked 12.34 seconds. Her teammate Masai Russell, hampered by the slowest reaction time in the race at 0.240 seconds, finished fourth in 12.44.

Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska equalled her season’s best with 12.49 seconds to take fifth place, just edging out Bahamian Devynne Charlton, who posted the same time. Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, the 2023 world champion, crossed in 12.53 seconds for seventh, while the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser completed the line-up in eighth with 12.56.

Amusan, 28, had entered the final as one of the favourites after dominating her semi-final heat with a time of 12.36 seconds, finishing ahead of Visser and Skrzyszowska. However, despite a strong start in the final, she was unable to hold off Kambundji’s late surge.

The Nigerian sprint star adds silver to her collection after her historic victory in Eugene in 2022, when she set the world record of 12.12 seconds, a mark that still stands.