Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The world‑record holder who began the 2026 Diamond League season finishing third in Shanghai and second in Xiamen finally took the top step of the podium in Rabat on Sunday, 31 May 2026, and she did it in the most emphatic way imaginable. Tobi Amusan, the 29‑year‑old Nigerian sprint‑hurdling phenomenon, rocketed to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme, crossing the finish line in 12.28 seconds – a time that not only matched her season’s best but also erased the meeting record of 12.45 seconds that she had set at the same Moroccan venue exactly one year earlier. The performance sent a clear message across the global athletics landscape: the athlete who has been a three‑time Diamond League champion and the undisputed queen of African sprint hurdling is rounding into peak form at precisely the right moment.
Running from lane four in a field that included some of the world’s finest barrier technicians, Amusan reacted instantly to the starter’s gun. Over the first two hurdles she ran shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Bahamian rival Devynne Charlton, who had also pushed her hard in previous Diamond League meetings. But as Amusan cleared the third barrier, a visible surge of acceleration separated her from the pack. She drove through the middle section of the race with the kind of controlled aggression that has become her trademark, and by the time she had three hurdles remaining, the victory was no longer in doubt. She ran the final metres with her eyes off the barriers, stealing a glance at the clock before raising her right index finger in triumph – a gesture that said as much about her state of mind as it did about her physical readiness.
Charlton, the Bahamian who has repeatedly tested Amusan in recent seasons, took second place in 12.40 seconds, while Dutch athlete Nadine Visser finished third in 12.47 seconds. For Amusan, the win represented her first Diamond League victory of the 2026 season after earlier podium finishes – third in Shanghai with 12.41 seconds and second in Xiamen with the same 12.28‑second clocking that now stands as a shared season’s best. In both of those earlier races, she had finished behind American sensation Masai Russell, who sent shockwaves through the sport last week by clocking 12.14 seconds – a time that came perilously close to Amusan’s own 12.12‑second world record, which has stood since the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.
The significance of the Rabat victory extends beyond a single Diamond League meet. Entering the season, Amusan had slipped to third in the latest world rankings, a position unfamiliar for an athlete who has dominated her event for nearly half a decade. Questions about form and consistency had begun to surface, even as she continued to collect medals. Her gold medal performance at the African Championships in Accra earlier in May – Nigeria’s first gold of that competition – had provided a solid foundation, but the Diamond League circuit is a different beast, featuring deeper fields and higher stakes. By breaking her own meeting record and matching her fastest time of the year, Amusan sent a unequivocal message that she is not only back in contention but that she intends to reclaim the crown she has held for so long.
The Rabat meeting record she shattered was one she had set just last year, a mark of 12.45 seconds that had stood as a personal milestone of her consistency. To lower that record to 12.28 seconds – a time that ranks as the fourth‑fastest of her entire career – is a testament to the incremental improvements she has made since the start of the outdoor season. The victory was also her second at the Rabat Diamond League, having won the same event in 2025. That repeat success in a venue that has become a kind of second home for the Nigerian star suggests a level of comfort and confidence that bodes well for the challenges ahead.
Amusan’s path to this moment has been anything but smooth. After setting the world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi‑finals of the 2022 World Championships (she later ran 12.06 seconds in the final, a time that was not ratified due to excessive wind assistance), she has faced a series of obstacles, including a provisional suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit over missed whereabouts filings ahead of the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. She was cleared to compete just days before those championships, an emotional rollercoaster that tested her resilience as much as her physical conditioning. The fact that she has now, three years later, produced a performance of such commanding authority suggests that she has not only weathered those storms but has emerged stronger.
On the track, the technical execution was flawless. Analysts noted that her reaction time was sharp, her clearance of the early barriers efficient, and her ability to maintain speed over the final metres exceptional. The slight glance at the clock as she approached the finish line was the look of an athlete who knew she had done something special – and who was already thinking about what comes next. Her next engagement will be the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome on 4 June 2026, another Wanda Diamond League meeting where she will face many of the same rivals, including the resurgent Masai Russell. That race could serve as an even stiffer test of her readiness for the major championships later this year, including the defence of her Commonwealth Games title.
For Nigerian athletics, the victory in Rabat is a reminder of the enduring quality of an athlete who has become a national icon. Amusan has not only broken world records but has also carried the hopes of a country on her shoulders through every triumph and every setback. Her performance in Morocco suggests that she is not merely content to rest on past glories; she is actively seeking to extend her dominance into a new phase of her career. The 12.28‑second clocking, the meeting record, the first‑place finish – these are not merely statistics. They are signposts on a road that, if she continues on this trajectory, could lead to even greater heights before the year is out.
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