Tobi Amusan Sends Strong Message to Rivals for 2027

Nigerian sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan has sent a clear message to her competitors as she prepares for the 2027 season. She aims to finish the current campaign strongly after winning silver at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, as reported by Sunday PUNCH.

Amusan finished the women’s 100m hurdles final in 12.34 seconds on Friday. She placed second behind American Masai Russell, who won with a time of 12.22 seconds and took home the $150,000 prize. Amusan's silver medal earned her $75,000. She made it to the final after placing second in her semi-final, clocking 12.49 seconds.

This result marks the third time this season that Russell has beaten Amusan. Russell also won at the Zurich Diamond League, where she broke Amusan’s long-standing world record with a time of 12.09 seconds. Additionally, Russell outperformed Amusan at the Diamond League final in Brussels, where Amusan finished in fourth place. Amusan had held the world record for four years after running 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

In an interview with Making of Champions in Budapest, Amusan thanked God while reflecting on a challenging season for her both physically and mentally.

“First, God is good. What started off as an amazing season, in between, I had some nipping here and there. You know, I’m not a robot. The body did shut down at a point. And I got back, built the momentum one race at a time,” she said.

She mentioned that she approached the championships with a determined mindset, regardless of her earlier results this season.

“Coming into this championship, my mindset going to the line was, we die here. I just kept telling myself I have to give it my all. Today is just one of those days where I have to bring my A-plus game. And I don’t care what happened in the race. All I knew was, look, I did it. That’s all I knew. And I looked up, and I saw the silver medal finish. I was like, look, I came in second place. God is good,” she added.

Amusan acknowledged that her season was tough, including a third-place finish at the Commonwealth Games and losing her world record. She expressed that support from her close ones helped her stay focused.