Nigerian Record Breaking Athlete Begins Title Defense in Hungary

World champion and record holder for 100m women’s hurdles, Tobi Amusan, begins her title defense on today. The said defence holds at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.

The athlete was cleared to defend her title last Thursday by the Athletics Integrity Unit after an appeals panel found she had not violated anti-doping rules despite missing three whereabouts tests in 12 months.

Reports revealed that the race starts by 6:12pm, according to the event schedule of the championship.

Meanwhile, Amusan would be running in lane four and face stiff competition from Olympic bronze medal winner Megan Tapper of Jamaica in the fifth and final heat of the first round.

Other hurdlers competing in heat five are Maayke Tjin-a-lim, Michelle Jenneke, Yumi Tanaka, Natalia Christofi, Ebony Morrison and Nika Glojnaric

At this stage last year, she started her remarkable season with 12.40secs in her heat to set a new African record, before posting a 12.12secs to surpass a world record set by Kendra Harrison’s 12.20sec in 2016 on her way to claiming the 100m hurdles title at the World Championships in Oregon, USA.

Amusan then completed her astonishing run with a historic gold medal in the final, running a wind-aided 12.06secs to become the first Nigerian world outdoor champion. Besides, she was provisionally suspended last month for missing her whereabouts tests, sparking fears that she might not compete in Budapest.

Besides, the Athletics Integrity Unit cleared Tobi Amusan last Thursday to defend her title.

“A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today (Thursday) found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period,” the statement read.

A relieved Amusan added that she was in top shape to defend her title, despite her suspension.

Following her clearance and confirmation, she had this to say:

“I am thrilled to put this behind me, and I look forward to defending my title at next week’s World Championships. I generally have been & consistently will be an ally of CLEAN SPORT. To my Five Fingers; God is the greatest & I genuinely appreciate y’all for the support”.