Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan, secured second place with a time of 12.60 seconds (-1.7m/s) at the pre-Olympics race in Florida on Saturday, July 20. She finished just behind the USA’s Grace Stark, who won with a time of 12.58 seconds.
Amusan, a key medal hopeful for Team Nigeria in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, had a poor start but quickly recovered, increasing her speed and efficiently clearing the hurdles at the Mike Holloway Pro Classic. Her swift recovery enabled her to secure second place, while Stark maintained her lead and finished narrowly ahead.
Earlier in the heats, Amusan clinched victory with a time of 12.49 seconds, outpacing US Champion Masai Russell, who finished in 12.51 seconds.
The 27-year-old Amusan aims to make history in Paris by becoming Nigeria’s first athlete to win both a world outdoor and an Olympic title, or to at least match the feat of Glory Alozie, who won a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.
