Amusan Wins Silver as Nigeria Opens World Athletics Ultimate Championships Campaign

Oru Leonard 

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Nigeria made a strong start to its campaign at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, with Tobi Amusan winning a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles on the opening day.

Amusan advanced to the final after finishing second in her semifinal in 12.49 seconds, narrowly behind Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, who won the heat in 12.45 seconds.

The Nigerian sprint hurdler raised her performance in the final, clocking 12.34 seconds to claim silver behind American Masai Russell, who won the title in 12.22 seconds. Netherlands’ Nadine Visser finished third in 12.39 seconds.

Amusan’s medal provided Team Nigeria with its first podium finish of the championships as the country’s athletes began competing against some of the world’s leading track and field stars.
Earlier, Ella Onojuvwevwo finished sixth in the first semifinal of the women’s 400m, recording 50.50 seconds to place 12th overall among the 16 athletes in the event.

Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino won the semifinal in 49.58 seconds, while Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser finished second in 49.67 seconds.

Team Nigeria will be back in action on Day 2, with Ezekiel Nathaniel scheduled to compete in the second semifinal of the men’s 400m hurdles.

Kayinsola Ajayi will also line up in the men’s 100m semifinals, where he is expected to face a strong field of global sprint stars.

Amusan’s silver medal has given Nigeria an early boost as the country continues its pursuit of further medals at the championships.

(NSC Media, September 12, 2026)