August 22, (THEWILL) – World champion, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, began the defence of her 100m hurdles title in fine fashion on Tuesday, winning her opening heat at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The Nigerian star, who set the world record of 12.12 seconds last summer, cruised to victory in 12.48 seconds, despite easing off near the finish line. Amusan got off to a slow start, but quickly made up ground, separating herself from the field over the final hurdles. She finished ahead of Megan Tapper of Jamaica, who clocked 12.51 for second place. Michelle Jenneke of Australia took third in 12.71.
It was an impressive performance from Amusan, who faced no real challenge as she coasted to the win. With the first round complete, she will now look ahead to Wednesday’s semi-finals, where she is expected to advance comfortably to the final.
As the newly crowned world record holder and defending world champion, Amusan is the clear favorite in the 100m hurdles in Budapest. She shattered the previous world record of 12.20 held by Kendra Harrison with her iconic 12.12 run at last year’s world championships in Eugene. If Amusan continues to perform at this level, she will be difficult to beat. Her goal is to successfully defend her world title before turning her attention to future major championships.
After some uncertainty regarding her eligibility, Amusan was cleared to compete last week by the Athletics Integrity Unit. She now aims to continue her record-breaking 2022 season by retaining her world crown in Hungary.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
