World Record Holder, Amusan, Misses 100m Hurdles Final

PARIS 2024

Duro Ikhazuagbe Live in Paris

When the eight finalists in the women’s 100m hurdles event of Paris 2024 Olympic Games line up this evening, world record holder at 12.12secs, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, will be conspicuously absent.

Amusan’s tumultuous season capped with the Ogun State-born sprint hurdler, failing to make the cut from the semifinals yesterday inside the main-bowl of the Stade de France.

Her failure to reach the final was the biggest blow to Nigeria’s dream for a medal at this Paris 2024 Olympic Games, turning out to another London 2012 when the country’s contingent returned home empty handed.

Amusan  clocked 12.55 in the semifinals heat 1 behind winner USA’s Grace Stark (12.39) and Devynne Charlton (12.50) of the Bahamas. Sadly, Amusan’s 12.55 placed her ninth in the overall summary. It meant, she has missed out of the eight sprint hurdlers to run in Saturday’s final.

In the event that USA girl, Alaysha Johnson ran the fastest time of 12.34 going into the final and defending champion from Tokyo 2021, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico also clocking 12.35 with Masai Russell of

USA on 12.42, it became obvious that Amusan’s chances for podium placement was slim.

Of course, a window of opportunity later filtered into the press tribune that the 2022 World Championships gold medalist could be considered for a place in the final after video replace of the semifinals showed that the host country’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela who got the eighth spot had over-stepped her lane. But Nigerian officials got wind of that too late and by the time they filed an appeal, time had lapsed.

And so faded Amusan’s hope for an Olympic Games medal here at Paris 2024. At the last Games in Tokyo, she placed fifth in the final to miss the podium. In four years’ time when Los Angeles will host the next Games Amusan will be 31 years old and doubts are now there she may not have the sharpness that gave her the world records the Worlds in Oregon, USA in 2022.

Elsewhere yesterday, the country’s 4×400 men’s relay team of Chidi Okezie, Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ojeli, Dubem Amene and Nathaniel Ezekiel made history as first Nigerian 16000 relay team to make the finals since Athens 2004 Games. However, the euphoria that greeted that feat faded after it was confirmed that Ojeli stepped out of his lane. And so, the Nigerian team got disqualified despite finishing second in heat 2 with a season best time of 2.59.81.

Also, Ese Ukpeseraye failed to qualify in the track cycling sprint event. She finished overall 28th position.

Another Nigerian taekwondo player, Elizabeth Anyanacho was beaten in her round of 16 by Chinese girl, Jie Song 2-0 to cap a nightmarish day for Team Nigeria at Paris 2024.