Tobi Amusan faces Setback in Pre-Olympic race against Grace Stark
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 Olympics medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan, experienced a surprising defeat at the Mike Holloway Pro Classic in Florida, where US College champion Grace Stark clinched victory in a competitive race.
Amusan, the World Record (WR) holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, finished in second place with a time of 12.60 seconds (-1.7m/s), narrowly behind Stark’s impressive winning time of 12.58 seconds. This race highlighted Stark’s readiness for the upcoming Olympics.
Grace Stark, the NCAA Champion, has shown remarkable form this season, highlighted by her performance at the US Olympic trials, where she achieved a Personal Best (PB) of 12.31 seconds, finishing second to Masai Russell’s world-leading time of 12.25 seconds. Stark’s victory over Amusan in Florida has boosted her confidence as she prepares for her Olympic debut, positioning herself as a strong medal contender.
Despite this setback, Tobi Amusan remains a formidable competitor. She clocked an impressive 12.49 seconds to win her heat race, the second-fastest time this season behind her 12.40 seconds in Jamaica. This performance indicates that the 27-year-old is still in excellent form, with two weeks remaining to fine-tune her preparations for the Paris Olympics.
Amusan aims to become Nigeria’s first athlete to win both a world outdoor and Olympic title, or at least match the silver medal feat achieved by Glory Alozie at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Her consistent performance in previous major championships suggests that she remains a strong contender for a medal in Paris.
In the same race, US champion and world leader Masai Russell finished third with a time of 12.66 seconds, losing to Amusan for the second time that night. Both Russell and Stark are expected to be major contenders for medals in Paris, alongside Amusan.
As the trio head to the games, they all aim for their first Olympic medals, making the women’s 100m hurdles one of the most anticipated events of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
