If unpredictability were an official event in athletics, the women’s 100m hurdles would embody it perfectly. The event is stacked with talent and depth, leaving no clear favorite — and the final lived up to its billing as one of the marquee contests of the Tokyo 2025 World Championships.
For Tobi Amusan, this edition carried a sense of unfinished business. She had narrowly missed the final at the Paris Olympics despite being among the title favorites, and four years earlier in Tokyo, she agonizingly placed fourth. This time, she was determined not to let history repeat itself.
The World Record holder cruised through her heats with ease, then stepped it up in the semifinals, executing a tactical race to clock 12.36s, the fastest time overall. She led a loaded field that included Grace Stark (12.37s), Olympic Champion Masai Russell (12.42s), defending champion Danielle Williams (12.44s), and Ditaji Kambundj (12.44s). Medal contenders Ackera Nugent and Alaysha Johnson, however, failed to advance.
In the final, Tobi Amusan didn’t get the best of starts as Masai Russell and Grace Stark surged ahead early, with Stark’s explosive reaction giving her a narrow lead. But as the race unfolded, Amusan and Ditaji Kambundji clawed their way back into contention.
Surprisingly, Olympic champion Russell faded in the latter stages, while Amusan dug deep, producing a powerful dip at the line to claim silver — her first global medal since her 2022 triumph and World Record run. The result also delivered Nigeria’s first podium finish of the champion
Ditaji Kambundji produced the performance of her life, storming to GOLD in a Swiss National Record of 12.24s, while Stark held on for bronze in 12.34s, with Russell relegated to fourth in 12.44s. Pia Skrzyszowska (12.49s) edged Devynne Charlton (12.49s) for fifth, Danielle Williams finished seventh in 12.53s, and Nadine Visser completed the lineup in 12.56s.
With this performance, Amusan joins Blessing Okagbare and Ese Brume as the only Nigerians to have won multiple medals at the World Championships, cementing her place in the nation’s athletics history
