Tobi Amusan Wins in Rabat and Breaks Meeting Record

Tobi Amusan, the world record holder, bagged her first Diamond League win of the season on Sunday. She broke her own meeting record in the women’s 100m hurdles, finishing in 12.28 seconds at the Rabat Diamond League.

Amusan’s winning time matched her best of the season, which she set at the Xiamen Diamond League last week. This victory is another sign that she is gaining strength this season.

After placing second in Xiamen, the Nigerian athlete did even better in Rabat. She crossed the finish line ahead of Devynne Charlton, who came in second with a time of 12.40 seconds, and Nadine Visser, who took third place in 12.47 seconds.

In her first Diamond League race of the season two weeks ago, Amusan finished in third place.

Amusan set the previous meeting record of 12.45 seconds in Rabat last year. The 29-year-old started this Diamond League season after winning her fourth straight African title. She has been getting better with each competition as she prepares for the season finale and the Commonwealth Games.

Amusan is also a three-time Diamond League champion. She hopes to win back the title this season.

But she faces tough competition from other strong athletes. One of them is American hurdler Masai Russell, who nearly broke Amusan’s world record with a time of 12.14 seconds last week.

Amusan set the world record at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. She ran 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals, breaking the old record of 12.20 seconds held by Kendra Harrison since 2016. In the final, she ran 12.06 seconds, but that time was not approved due to too much wind.

A year after breaking the world record, Amusan was temporarily suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit. This was over missed whereabouts filings before the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Luckily, she was allowed to compete just days before the championships.

Now that she is back in form, the Nigerian athlete aims to reach the top of the women’s 100m hurdles again. She recently dropped to third in the latest world rankings.