Nigeria’s sprint hurdles star Tobi Amusan has opened up about the physical and emotional challenges she endured this season after fighting her way to a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
Amusan clocked 12.34 seconds in the final, finishing behind American Masai Russell, who won in 12.22, while the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser claimed bronze in 12.39.
For Amusan, however, the medal represented much more than finishing second.
The Nigerian admitted that the season had been difficult and unpredictable, with her body not always responding the way she wanted. Yet rather than dwell on those setbacks, she chose gratitude.
“This year has been upside down, but I must still give thanks to God because He knows everything. He can see what I cannot see,” Amusan said.
Her words offered a glimpse into what athletes often endure away from the cameras. Behind the medals, records and expectations is a human body that sometimes simply refuses to cooperate.
And Amusan acknowledged exactly that.
“I came into this race saying that I must give it my all because the body is not a robot. It shuts down sometimes,” she explained.
Despite those difficulties, the former world record holder arrived in Budapest with one objective — to leave nothing behind.
“For this tournament, I said no matter what it takes, I just have to give it my all.”
That fighting mentality ultimately carried the Nigerian back onto a major international podium.
The result also came during a season of considerable change for Amusan. Her long-standing 100m hurdles world record of 12.12 seconds, set during her spectacular run at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, was broken by Russell in Zurich in August 2026, when the American clocked 12.09. Amusan finished second in that race with a season-best 12.23.
For an athlete who had spent four years carrying the title of world record holder, losing the record could easily have become the defining story of her season.
Amusan, however, appears determined not to allow it to define what comes next.
Her Budapest silver showed that, despite the challenges and the emergence of a new world-record holder, the Nigerian remains firmly among the world’s elite sprint hurdlers.
And when asked about what people should expect from her going forward, Amusan offered a response that suggested the competitive fire remains very much alive.
“I do not know what is going to happen next year, but it’s going to be bloody. Just take whatever you see.”
There was disappointment in not winning gold, but there was also gratitude in finishing a turbulent season with another major medal.
For Amusan, Budapest was not simply about the colour of the medal around her neck. It was about pushing through a year in which things had not always gone according to plan and discovering that, even when her body reminded her that she was human, the champion’s determination inside her had not disappeared.
