The Championship is one of the best in the calendar of the world Athletics body IAAF, where classy track and field athletes compete to be crowned world champions
By Saidu Abubakar
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan (26) has assured Nigerians she will be back stronger next year, after losing her world women’s 100m Hurdles title to an older Jamaica’s Danielle Williams (30) in the recent Budapest World Athletics Championships, Hungary.
Defending Champion, Amusan finished 6th in the Women’s 100m Hurdles final in a time of 12.62s at the Championships with Danielle Williams of Jamaica winning the race in 12.43s.
She told journalists after the event that it was quite “a journey getting into the final” despite all she had gone through in the last couple of weeks.
“I Just want to say a huge thank you to all those who have been supporting me through the ups and downs, Ya’ll stood by me, kept praying for me, God Bless you all, I am sorry I might have let you all down, but we will be back stronger definitely.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one; nobody likes to lose but considering what I have gone through in the past couple of months, I’m so grateful that I came out,” she said. Amusan and 2019 winner, Nia Ali were never in the hunt, finishing sixth and last, respectively
If nothing, the hassles to come out of Athletics Integrity Unit’s provisional suspension has played a great role in dampening Amusan’s morale, which I believe the AFN should not handle with kid gloves by doing the needful.
This is because even as the AIU has released the report that cleared Tobi Amusan of committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of “Whereabouts Failure” within a 12-month period, the AIU Head, Brett Clothier has indicated the Unit is disappointed by the decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline of September 13.
Valuechain reports that Blessing Okagbare, became the sixth Nigerian on the active ban list of Athletes Integrity Unit, AIU. Though a first-time offender, Okagbare was February last year, hit with a 10-year ban and later extended to 11 years for multiple doping infractions as well as refusal to cooperate with investigators thereby denying the AIU possible leads to other erring athletes.
In the past, five Nigerian athletes had been variously banned by AIU with two of them serving life ban. Chioma Ajunwa, Mary Onyali, and scores of others have all served out their bans at various times.
It is also pertinent to note that there are some other athletes of Nigerian descent on AIU’s active list but have since switched their nationalities and have their offences commuted while representing their adopted countries.
The two-time Commonwealth Games Champion, Amusan, dominated her races in the heats and semis, clocking 12.48s and 12.56s respectively. She was the defending champion coming to Budapest, having struck Gold at the championships at Oregon in 2022, with the Nigerian setting an amazing World Record of 12.12s in the semi-finals.
She started her campaign last year with a 12.40 seconds African record and went ahead to smash the 12.20 seconds world record set by Kendra Harrison 12.20 in 2016.
The 26-year-old reigning Nigeria, African, Commonwealth and Diamond League champion was shortly before the Budapest show, cleared to compete after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) freed the Atlanta-based athlete from a three “Whereabouts Failure” charge.
Despite failing to make a podium finish, Amusan remains a world record holder in the Women’s 100m Hurdles she set on her way to winning the world title in Oregon, USA.
Valuechain recalls that Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan (born 23 April 1997) is a Nigerian track and field athlete. She is very good in short races like 100 meters and 100 meters hurdles. Tobi Amusan won the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 100 meters hurdles. She set a new record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals and also improved her time again in the final, running a wind-aided 12.06 seconds to win the gold medal. Tobi was the 2018 Commonwealth, African champion and also a two-time African Games champion in the event. She won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2021 in the 100m hurdles.
Born 14th September 1992 Danielle Williams is a Jamaican track and field athlete specialising in the 100 metres hurdles. She is best known for winning gold medals at the 2015 World Championships and at the 2023 World Championships. In addition, she won two medals at Summer Universiades, bronze in 2013 and gold in 2015, and represented her country at the 2013 World Championships.
Jamaica’s Williams finally raced to world gold in the 100m hurdles once again, winning by the narrowest margin eight years after first climbing the global medal podium.
She said after her win: “I still don’t believe I won against such a stellar field. I’ve been racing these ladies all year and they have been kicking me left, right and centre. But I had such confidence in my training and my abilities that I never stopped believing”.
The 30-year-old, who won gold in Beijing in 2015 and bronze in 2019, edged Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico by one-hundredth of a second to win in 12.43. While USA’s Keni Harrison took the Bronze in a time of 12.46s.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” Williams said. “I came out here knowing that I could win but I would have to give everything I had”.
“I’m not upset at all,” Camacho-Quinn said. “I can be grateful with that silver. After I won a bronze at the last World Championships, now I have a silver.
“If I add my Olympic gold medal I have the whole collection to be proud of. This final was packed with talents, so I don’t have any bitter feelings.”