LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is poised to commence her title defense at the World Athletics Championship on Tuesday, 22 August, 2023, at Budapest’s National Athletics Centre in Hungary.
The reigning 100m hurdles champion and holder of the world record will participate in Heat 5, alongside athletes such as Ebony Morrison, Michelle Jenneke, Maayke Tjin-a-lim, Natalia Christofi, Nika Glojnaric, and Maayke Tjin-a-lim.
During the 2022 World Championship in Eugene, USA, the 26-year-old initiated her campaign with a time of 12.40 seconds, setting a new African record.
She then proceeded to establish a remarkable world record of 12.12 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 12.20 seconds set by Kendra Harrison in 2016.
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Initially, concerns emerged that Amusan might not be able to defend her championship title due to a provisional suspension issued by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The suspension was prompted by her alleged failure to complete three out-of-competition drug tests. However, a disciplinary panel subsequently cleared Amusan of any wrongdoing.
In response to this, a statement was released: “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.”
As Team Nigeria’s medal hopeful, Amusan is a key figure in the championship following the challenging beginning, which saw Ese Brume finish fourth in the women’s long jump event on Sunday.
The race is scheduled to commence at 6:12 p.m. (Nigerian time).