- Fan’s favourite, Tobi Amusan, disappoints in the semifinal hurdle event
- The only reason Amusan failed to qualify for Saturday’s final hurdle event
- Trouble in Paris, as France may get disqualified if Nigerian officials appeal
World record holder and former world champion Tobi Amusan was knocked out of the women’s 100m hurdles at the Olympics on Friday, 9th August, while defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn advanced to the final. Amusan made headlines in 2022 by setting a world record of 12.12 seconds at the World Championships in Eugene, where she won the gold medal.
However, she has failed to replicate her outstanding success at this year’s Olympic event. It will be interesting to see whether Tobi Amusan, Nigeria’s flagbearer in Paris, will pursue another medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics or if she will choose to wrap up her Olympic journey after this edition.
Why Amusan did not make it to final
The 27-year-old Nigerian star finished third in her heat, just behind Grace Stark from the USA and Devynne Charlton from the Bahamas. The time however wasn't fast enough to advance to the final as one of the fastest losers.
Her time of 12.55 seconds put her in ninth place, just one spot away from making it into Saturday’s final.
The major reason the 100m Hurdles World Record holder failed to make the final was because she relented on her performance from the rounds qualification, where she won her heat in just 12.49 seconds. Her win time at the rounds if only she had put in more effort, was enough to take her into the final.
Amusan, who had successfully overturned a doping ban earlier this year just before the Olympics after missing three doping tests, was visibly pained and chose not to speak to the media after her elimination.
The qualifying rounds were dominated by US sprinters, with three of them save for Puerto Rico’s Quinn clocking the fastest times.
Alaysha Johnson had the fastest time of 12.34 seconds, followed closely by Puerto Rico’s Camacho Quinn with 12.35 seconds. Stark was third fastest with 12.39 seconds, and Masai Russell was fourth with 12.42 seconds.
Paris Olympics 2024: Nigerian cyclist thanks German team for bicycle help
Previously, TheRadar reported that Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye had to borrow a bike from the German cycling team to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.
Ukpeseraye, who was informed at the last minute about her races in the Keirin and Sprint repechage, thanked her German opponent, Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, on Twitter for helping her with a bike for the events.
