World record holder, Tobi Amusan, cruised into the semi-finals of the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Amusan on Sunday clocked 12.53 seconds to win her heat, finishing ahead of Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton and Italy’s Elena Carraro, who placed second and third, respectively.
Despite recording the fifth-best reaction time at the start, the Nigerian took control of the race early and maintained her lead to the finish line.
She has been drawn in Heat 2 of the semi-finals, where she will face the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser, ranked third in the world. Amusan currently sits ninth in the global rankings.
According to the competition format, the top two athletes from each of the three semi-final heats will qualify for the final, along with the next two fastest runners across all heats.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Oyesade Olatoye exited the women’s hammer throw event after failing to qualify for the final.
The US-born athlete, who switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2019, recorded a best throw of 68.82m in her third attempt, placing 10th in Group A of the qualification round.
Amusan remains Nigeria’s sole female contender at the championships following Olatoye’s elimination