Tobi Amusan Claims Silver as Masai Russell Wins 100m Hurdles at Ultimate Championship

Tobi Amusan Claims Silver as Masai Russell Wins 100m Hurdles at Ultimate Championship

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan produced a strong late surge to secure second place in the women’s 100m hurdles final at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday.

Amusan, the former world record holder, clocked 12.34 seconds to finish behind American Olympic champion Masai Russell, who won the title in 12.22 seconds.

The Nigerian was involved in a closely contested battle for the silver medal, with Bahamas hurdler Devynne Charlton also pushing for a podium position. Amusan finished strongly over the final hurdles to move ahead and cross the line in second.

Russell, however, had built enough advantage to claim the first Ultimate Championship title in the event. Her victory continues an outstanding 2026 season in which she has established herself as the leading women’s 100m hurdler in the world.

The American had already stunned the athletics world in August by breaking Amusan’s world record. Russell ran 12.09 seconds in Zurich on August 27, lowering Amusan’s previous record of 12.12 seconds. World Athletics lists Russell as the current world-record holder and the world No. 1 in the event.

Amusan, meanwhile, entered the Budapest final as one of Russell’s biggest challengers. World Athletics had identified the Nigerian as the second-fastest woman in the world in 2026 before the Ultimate Championship, following her season-best 12.23 seconds in Zurich.

The Nigerian also showed her quality in the semi-final earlier on Friday, finishing second in her heat behind Charlton in 12.49 seconds to book her place in the final. Charlton won that semi-final in 12.45 seconds.

For Amusan, the silver medal represents another major result in a season in which she has remained among the world’s elite despite losing her world-record status to Russell.

Russell’s victory adds another major achievement to her 2026 campaign. The American Olympic champion arrived in Budapest unbeaten over the hurdles after breaking the world record and winning the Diamond League Final in Brussels earlier this month. Reuters reported that she won that Diamond League race in 12.20 seconds, with Charlton finishing second in 12.33.

Amusan’s second-place finish also gives Nigeria another reason to celebrate on the global athletics stage, with the 29-year-old continuing to compete at the highest level against a new generation of elite hurdlers.