Diamond League Athletics: Tobi Amusan sets new African women’s hurdle record
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan last Saturday, won the 100m women’s hurdle at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
She broke the African record after clocking 12.41 seconds with the victory.
During the Paris Diamond League, Amusan blazed to victory with a time (12.41secs – AR) that moved her up to third in the world in 2022, only behind World Leader Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.37s) and Alaysha Johnson (12.40s). She is the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League trophy.
She won at Diamond League in Zurich in September 2021, where she also set a sensational African Record and Personal Best of 12.42secs. The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the Olympics after placing fourth behind Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the USA’s Kendra Harrison and Tapper has been involved in four races after.
She won the Citius Meeting in 12.80secs in Bern, Switzerland on August 21, 2021 and placed fourth at the Paris Diamond League seven days later.
In Paris on Saturday, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce hammered home her status as world championship favourite by equaling her world best time this year to win the 100m at the Paris Diamond League meeting.
The veteran Jamaican sprinter triumphed in 10.67sec, shrugging off the crushing 30-degree heat at the city’s Charlety stadium.
A two-time Olympic champion over 100m, the 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce equaled the 2022 best time she set in Nairobi in May. The nine-time world champion’s win illustrated her threat to reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah at next month’s world championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Both will meet next week at the Jamaican trials.
“I feel very good, technically it was very good. The goal is always to be on top technically, then the lap times follow,” said Fraser-Pryce. “Physically I was good too. Running 10.6, only a few sprinters can achieve that,” she added.