Accolades continue trailing women’s 100 metres hurdles former world record holder, Tobi Amusan, following her second place finish at the maiden World Athletics Ultumate Champiobship in Budapest, Hungary.
Sports247 reports that the shower of plaudits was ignited by Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) media committee chairnan, Maxwell Kumoye, who declared that Amusan ‘underlined her enduring class on the global stage’ with her silver medal feat.
Though many Nigerians felt disappointed that Amusan could not win the inaugural title, Kumoye noted that she ‘clocked an impressive 12.34 seconds to finish second behind American Olympic champion Masai Russell.’
Friday’s victory, which came in 12:22 seconds, meant Russell completed an unbeaten season, just a month after she erased Amusan’s previous world record with a stunning 12.09 seconds in Zurich, Switzerland.
Russell entered the Budapest showdown as the overwhelming favourite after dominating the event throughout this season and, though Amusan was once again beaten by the American, Kumoye insisted that the Nigerian hurdler gave a heroic fight.
“Amusan once again proved she remains one of the world’s elite hurdlers, producing a strong performance to secure second place; with the Nigerian finishing ahead of Dutch star Nadine Visser, who clocked 12.39 seconds.
“The result added another major global podium finish to Amusan’s remarkable career, which includes her historic world record of 12.12 seconds set in 2022 and three Diamond League 100m hurdles titles.
“The spotlight also belonged to Amusan, whose silver medal further demonstrated her ability to remain a major force in the event, even after surrendering the world record,” Kumoye posited.
