By Dorcas Francis Koji
Nigerian sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan responded to the loss of her world record with a commanding victory at the Grand Prix Brescia in Italy, winning the women’s 100m hurdles on Sunday.
Amusan clocked 12.56 seconds to take first place despite battling a strong 1.7m/s headwind.
The Nigerian star finished ahead of American hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who crossed the line in 12.62 seconds, while Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent settled for third in 12.75 seconds.
The victory provided a timely boost for Amusan ahead of the 2026 Diamond League Final after her world record was surpassed by American Olympic champion Masai Russell at the Zurich Diamond League.
Russell produced a sensational 12.09 seconds at the Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday, improving Amusan’s previous world record of 12.12 seconds by three hundredths of a second.
Amusan had held the world record for four years after setting the 12.12-second mark in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
She followed that performance by winning the world championship final in 12.06 seconds, although the time was not recognised as a world record because of an excessive tailwind.
Despite losing the world record, Amusan remains one of the leading forces in the event and will have another opportunity to challenge Russell when the two hurdlers meet again at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium, from September 4 to 5.
The Nigerian is a three-time Diamond League champion, having claimed the title in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
With the season reaching its climax, Amusan will be determined to finish strongly and reclaim the Diamond League crown after her impressive performance in Brescia.
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