Tobi Amusan, renowned as the 2022 world champion and the world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, faced a disappointing outcome at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday. Despite her stellar track record, the 27-year-old Nigerian athlete couldn’t advance to the final round of the event.
Competing in the sixth lane, Amusan completed Heat 1 with a respectable performance, clocking in at 12.55 seconds. This effort, while commendable, secured her only the third position in her heat. Unfortunately, this was not enough to ensure her place in the final.
Her chances were further diminished by the performances in Heat 3, where Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent and France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela surpassed her time. Nugent stormed through the hurdles with a time of 12.44 seconds, while Samba-Mayela recorded 12.52 seconds, both clinching their spots in the final.
Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Amusan showed great promise by leading a strong field of eight athletes with a time of 12.49 seconds. Close on her heels were America’s Alaysha Johnson, who recorded 12.61 seconds, and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown with 12.84 seconds. This impressive showing had bolstered expectations, making her one of Team Nigeria’s top contenders for an Olympic gold medal.
However, her time of 12.55 seconds in the semi-final heats placed her in the ninth position overall, missing the cut for the top eight athletes who would compete in the final on Saturday.
The lineup of athletes who qualified for the final includes notable names: Grace Stark from the USA, Devynne Charlton from the Bahamas, USA’s Alaysha Johnson, Nadine Visser from the Netherlands, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn representing Puerto Rico, Masai Russell from the USA, Ackera Nugent from Jamaica, and Cyrena Samba-Mayela from France.
Amusan’s performance adds to the series of unfortunate and disappointing outcomes for the Nigerian team at the Olympics. Despite being a favourite and having a strong track record, the competition proved to be exceptionally tough this year, underlining the high level of talent and performance required to succeed at the Olympic Games.
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