Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has emerged winner of the Diamond League trophy for an astonishing third consecutive time.
On Sunday night at Oregon in the U.S., Amusan with a time of 12.33 seconds emerged winner of the fiercely-contested 100 metres hurdles event.
The win has come after a disappointing outing in Budapest, Hungary during the World Athletics Championships.
Amusan, with Sunday’s remarkable performance, has now made history as the second woman in Diamond League history after Dawn Nelson-Harper to win a hat-trick of 100m hurdles titles.
Interestingly, Sunday’s win has come for Amusan in Oregon where she won the world title last year and also set a world record in the process.
For Sunday’s race, the hard-charging Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico finished second in 12.38 while American Keni Harrison was third in 12.44.
Danielle Williams of Jamaica who dethroned Amusan in Budapest finished fourth in 12.47
The athletics season has been a torrid one for Amusan but she emphatically proved on Sunday she is arguably the best sprint hurdler in the world.
The sweet victory in Oregon brings a triumphant close to what has been a difficult summer for Amusan.
Amusan was left shattered in the build-up to the World Championships in Budapest after she was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for whereabouts failures.
The 26-year-old was cleared by a disciplinary tribunal on the eve of the meet’s kick-off.
It was not surprising then when Amusan uncharacteristically finished sixth in the 100m hurdles final in Budapest.
With many not initially sure whether the AIU would file an appeal against Amusan at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), the focus already shifted.
It was shifted to next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
However, with a better frame of mind to prepare, Amusan came out smoking to win her third Diamond League trophy on Sunday.
The world record-holder first made history in 2021 when she ran a 12.42 African record to become the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League title.
For those who said it was a fluke, Amusan went on to successfully defend her title the following year, running a new 12.29 Weltklasse meeting record in Zurich, Switzerland.
And on Sunday Amusan made it a hat-trick of wins with a season-best time of 12.33 secs at Eugene in Oregon.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
VO/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi
