World record holder Tobi Amusan claimed her third hurdles title at the 24th African Athletics Championships in Ghana after storming to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles final on Wednesday.
Competing at her fourth championships, Amusan set the pace from start to finish and was followed in second place by Zimbabwe’s Ashley Miller, while another Nigerian, Adaobi Tabugbo, finished third to win her first individual medal for Nigeria.
Amusan’s latest title adds to her maiden triumph on home soil in 2018 and her victory in Mauritius in 2022.
She did not compete in the hurdles at the last edition in Cameroon in 2024.
The official time for the 2026 final was yet to be released, as the organisers have been battling a series of challenges, including a dysfunctional timing system, absence of live results, incomplete results without wind readings and inconsistent disqualifications, drawing criticism from athletes and observers.
Amusan dominated the event in the heats and semi-finals with the fastest times before capping her performance with victory in the final.
‘First, I will say all thanks to God. I don’t know what the time is, but I got the win — that’s all that matters — and I’m looking forward to the next race’, Amusan said after the race.
‘The goal is to get racing, and this is my season opener. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season’.
There were two more finals for Nigeria on the night, but there were no additional gold medals in the men’s and women’s 100m finals.
Former African youth champion Rosemary Chukwuma was beaten to gold in the women’s 100m final by Cameroon’s Kole Etame, while Liberian sprinter Thelma Davies claimed bronze.
The women’s 100m final also featured Nigeria’s new track sensation, Miracle Ezechukwu.
Reigning National Sports Festival champion Chidera Ezeakor also won a medal in the men’s 100m final, finishing third.
The home crowd were stunned in the keenly contested men’s 100m final as Ghana’s Abdul-Raheed Saminu and Joseph Amoah both missed out on the podium.
Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme stormed to gold in the race to complete his country’s sweep of both the men’s and women’s 100m titles, improving on his second-place finish at last year’s championships, while South Africa’s Nkoana Bradley took silver.
Nigeria now have six medals — one gold, two silver and three bronze — at the championships, which will end on Sunday, 17 May.
On Tuesday, Nigeria opened their campaign at the 24th African Senior Athletics Championships with two medals on the opening day, as Divine Oladipo and Obiageri Amaechi won silver and bronze respectively in the women’s discus event.
Making her first international appearance for Nigeria following her switch from Great Britain, Oladipo marked the occasion with a silver-medal finish, while Amaechi completed Nigeria’s podium presence with bronze.
