Image of Tobi Amusan and Koyinsola Ajayi

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan will take centre stage today at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo as she seeks a second world title in the women’s 100m hurdles.

The 28-year-old, who made history in Oregon 2022 as Nigeria’s first-ever world champion in athletics, will compete in the second semi-final at 1:13 pm local time, aiming for a place in tonight’s final. Amusan, who eased through her heat on Sunday in 12.53s, faces tough competition from Japan’s Hitoma Nakajima, Jamaica’s Amoi Brown, USA’s Alaysha Johnson, Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska and Dutch star Nadine Visser.

With a season’s best of 12.24s, she enters the semi-finals with the fourth-fastest time of the year, behind America’s Masai Russell (12.17s), Grace Stark (12.19s) and Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent. Amusan remains Nigeria’s brightest medal hope, boasting five national titles, three Diamond League crowns and the distinction of being the country’s only world champion in track and field.

Nigeria’s men are also in the spotlight in Tokyo. Favour Ashe Ajayi stormed into the men’s 100m final with a blistering 9.93s in the semi-finals, becoming the first Nigerian in 18 years to reach the final of the event. The last man to achieve the feat was Olusoji Fasuba, who finished fourth in Osaka in 2007. Ajayi, who ran a personal best of 9.88s in the heats, is now Nigeria’s third-fastest man in history. His compatriot, Israel Okon, fell short after finishing seventh in his semi-final in 10.14s.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Ezekiel Nathaniel will also compete today in the men’s 400m hurdles. Ranked fifth in the world and coming off a personal best of 47.31s at the Silesia Diamond League, Nathaniel is tipped as another athlete capable of delivering a strong performance for Nigeria.