Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has advanced to the semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The world record holder clocked 12.53 seconds on Sunday to win her heat ahead of Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas and Italy’s Elena Carraro, who finished second and third, respectively.
Despite recording only the fifth-best reaction time to the starting gun, Amusan quickly took control of the race and powered through to the finish line with ease.
The Ogun State-born athlete will now line up in Heat 2 of the semi-finals, where she faces a strong challenge from the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser, the world’s third-ranked hurdler. Amusan currently sits ninth in the global rankings.
According to the competition format, the top two athletes from each of the three semi-final heats will progress to the final, along with the two fastest losers across the heats.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Oyesade Olatoye fell short in the hammer throw event after posting a best distance of 68.82m with her third attempt. Though it was an improvement on her first throw of 66.78m, it was not enough to secure a place in the final, as she finished 10th in Group A of the qualification round.
With Olatoye’s exit, Amusan remains Nigeria’s last female contender at the championships.
