Tobi Amusan, a world record hurdler, will not be participating in the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, this weekend, Credible News reports.
She was excluded from Nigeria’s final entry for the event. Sources close to Amusan claims that, she decided to skip the championship to focus on preparing for the upcoming African Games in Ghana, scheduled from March 8 to 23.
Professional athletes like Amusan carefully select the meets they participate in to avoid injuries and exhaustion before major championships. Despite missing the World Indoor Championships, she remains committed to competing in the African Games, provided there are no injuries.
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Amusan had raised hopes of becoming the third Nigerian, following Ese Brume and Glory Alozie, to win at the World Athletics’ main events, both indoor and outdoor. She achieved this after setting two African indoor records in the 60m hurdles this season.
Her performances also sparked optimism of having a Nigerian female indoor champion, joining the ranks of the late Sunday Bada and Olusoji Fasuba. Bada and Fasuba clinched the 400m and 60m titles in 1997 and 2008, respectively.
In Tobi Amusan’s absence, Nigeria’s hopes for medals now rely on Ese Brume. She aims to win gold after being the first Nigerian long jumper to medal at both the world indoor and outdoor championships.
Brume earned bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and silver at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, USA. Additionally, she won silver at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Among Nigeria’s final entries, Brume is the sole female athlete. The other confirmed participants include Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Edosie Ibadin, and Dubem Nwachukwu.
Enekwechi will compete in shot put, while Ibadin and Nwachukwu will participate in the 400m and 800m events, respectively.
Nigeria’s 4x400m team includes Sikiru Adeyemi, Chidi Okezie, Nwachukwu, and Ibadin. They will compete against teams from the USA, Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, and Kenya.
Credible news.ng
