WORLD RECORD HOLDER TOBI AMUSAN DETHRONED AS WORLD CHAMPION
World Champion Tobi Amusan has been dethroned in her effort to defend her world title after finishing 6th in the final of women’s 100m hurdles final at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Thursday
Jamaica’s Danielle Williams returned a season best of 12.43s to claim the title while Olympic champion , Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico came second in a time 12.44s and USA Kendra Harrison returned in a time 12.46s to win the bronze, while World record holder, Tobi Amusan came 6th in a time 12.62s in her third consecutive final.
Tobi who was on quest to establishing authority among the world best as fourth woman after USA’s duo of Gail Devers and Michelle Perry and Australian Sally Pearson, to claim two gold medals in women’s 100m hurdles at the World Championships missed out with her returned time of 12.62s
In the final, the world record holder competed against Olympic champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji, Bahama’s Devynne Charlton and America’s Kendra Harrison and Nia Ali and the Jamaican duo of Ackera Nuget and Danielle Williams at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.
Although it was a tough race for the Nigerian, it could be attributed to the difficult times before her recall last week by the Athletics Integrity Unit [AIU] after the sprint star was feared would not be cleared to defend her title at the championship in Budapest.
However, the world record holder was cleared of wrongdoing two days before the start of the championship.
‘’A panel of 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.
En route to the World Athletics Championships, Tobi had a sparkling build up winning races in the Diamond League. She won Silesia Diamond League and the Stockholm Diamond League, third at the Ostravia and second at the Lausanne Meet before the hang hope- ‘’Three Whereabouts’’ before she was finally cleared of not wrongdoing by the Athletics Integrity Unit [AIU].
It will be recalled Amusan had a superb run winning the women’s 100m hurdles in Oregon last year to set a world record of 12.12m, and ran a 12.06s in the final with width assisted. She holds the Commonwealth Games new Games’ record of 12.30s and defended her Diamond League title in her record breaking season with the records winning Nigeria, Africa, Commonwealth, World and Diamond League titles.
Meanwhile, Favour Ofili, Akintola Alaba could not qualify for the final of the women’s 200m and men’s 200m respectively. While Ese Brume finished fourth to miss out on the podium as a medal winner in the long jump.