Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan will return to the spotlight today in Tokyo as she bids for her second world title at the ongoing 2025 World Championships.
The world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, who made history in Oregon 2022 by becoming Nigeria’s first-ever world champion in athletics, will line up in the second semi-final at exactly 1:13 pm, hoping to book a place in tonight’s final.
The 28-year-old, who stormed through her heat on Sunday in 12.53s, faces a tough field that includes Japan’s Hitoma Nakajima, Jamaica’s Amoi Brown, USA’s Alaysha Johnson, Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska and Dutch star Nadine Visser.
With a season’s best of 12.24s, Amusan enters the semis with the fourth-fastest time of 2025. Only America’s Masai Russell (12.17s), Grace Stark (12.19s) and Ackera Nugent have gone faster this year.
Amusan remains Nigeria’s brightest medal hope in the 2025 World Championships. Beyond her five national titles, the hurdler is also a three-time Diamond League champion and still the only Nigerian to hold a world gold in track and field.
Nigeria’s men are also writing their own history at the 2025 World Championships. Favour Ashe Ajayi blazed into the men’s 100m final with a blistering 9.93s in the semi-finals, becoming the first Nigerian to reach the event’s final in 18 years.
The last man to do so was Olusoji Fasuba, who finished fourth in Osaka 2007. Ajayi, who clocked a personal best of 9.88s in the heats, is now Nigeria’s third-fastest sprinter of all time. His compatriot, Israel Okon, fell short in the semis, finishing seventh in his race with 10.14s.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Ezekiel Nathaniel will also fly the flag later today in the 400m hurdles. Ranked fifth in the world and fresh from a personal best of 47.31s at the Silesia Diamond League, Nathaniel is widely tipped as one to watch.
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