- Amusan is through to an Olympic semifinals for the third consecutive time
- Favour Ofilli reveals she received shocking news before her final sprint event
- Nigerian-born Annette Echikunwoke who switched allegiance wins silver for the USA
Amusan, who has won the Diamond League three times in a row, two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, two African championships, and three gold medals at the African Games, has competed in the Olympics twice (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020).
Tobi Amusan holds the world record for the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds, set during the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She is also the current Commonwealth and African champion in the event.
Amusan became the first Nigerian to win a world championship gold medal and set the world record when she won the 2022 World Championships, clocking 12.06 seconds in the final. She won back-to-back Commonwealth and African titles in 2018 and 2022 and is a two-time African Games champion in the 100-meter hurdles.
Additionally, she has won the Diamond League championship in the 100-meter hurdles in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Nigeria’s hurdler, Amusan is through to an Olympic semifinals for the third consecutive time
Tobi Amusan, the current world champion, progressed to the semi-finals of the 100-meter hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, August 7.
She led the race with a time of 12.49 seconds, with the USA’s Alaysha Johnson finishing second at 12.61 seconds and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown third at 12.84 seconds. Amusan is a strong contender for the gold medal but will have to compete against formidable athletes such as Devynne Charlton from the Bahamas, the USA’s Johnson, world champion Danielle Williams, and Puerto Rico’s reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, August 9, and the final will be held on Saturday, August 10.
Ofilli discloses she got shocking news just before final race
Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili revealed she got surprising news just before her final race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was determined to perform her best in the women’s 200-metre final despite the shock.
Ofili said, “God’s will, not mine. It’s been tough. I tried to stay mentally strong despite the surprising news I received a few days ago. I gave it my all from lane 9.”
The 21-year-old finished sixth in the 200-metre final with a time of 22.24 seconds, but it was not good enough for a podium finish.
The gold medal went to Gabrielle Thomas from the United States, who won with a time of 21.83 seconds.
Nigerian-born athlete, Annette Echikunwoke wins silver for USA
Annette Echikunwoke, a Nigerian-born athlete representing the USA, achieved a remarkable silver medal in the hammer throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday night. Echikunwoke delivered an impressive throw of 75.48 meters, just falling short of the gold medal won by world champion Camryn Rogers.
Echikunwoke, who became a US citizen after facing difficulties with Nigerian officials, found success representing the United States. Her frustration stemmed from the Nigerian athletics authorities failing to enter her name for the Tokyo Olympics despite her having qualified. After this setback, Echikunwoke opted to compete for the USA and narrowly missed out on gold in Paris.
Initially, Echikunwoke had chosen to represent Nigeria, her parent's homeland, in hammer throwing in 2021. She set an African record and qualified for the Tokyo Games. However, she and nine other Nigerian athletes were disqualified by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) due to a testing protocol error by the African Federation of Nigeria (AFN). The AFN’s failure to adhere to the required rules for athletes based in the USA, including Echikunwoke, led to their ineligibility.
Paris Olympics 2024: Hurdles favourite Tobi Amusan set to begin her gold quest
Previously, TheRadar reported that Tobi Amusan was set to make history by competing in her third Olympic Games. She began her career as a regular sprinter and won silver in the 100m hurdles at the 2014 African Youth Games. She claimed the African junior title in March 2015 and, just six months later, at 18 years of age, she won gold in the 100m hurdles at the African Games in Brazzaville, Congo.
In her journey to her third Olympic appearance, Amusan has not only proudly represented Nigeria but also inspired younger women across the country.
