Nigeria's Tobi Amusan concluded her season with a second-place finish in the women's 100 meters hurdles at the Athlos meeting in London, earning $35,000. The former world record holder clocked 12.51 seconds with a legal +1.2m/s wind at StoneX Stadium on Friday. Amusan finished just one-hundredth of a second behind American Alaysha Johnson, who won the Athlos hurdles title with a time of 12.50 seconds.
The closely contested race saw Bahamas star Devynne Charlton, the Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor record holder, finish third with a time of 12.63 seconds. Jamaica's former world champion Danielle Williams recorded the same time, finishing fourth. Another Jamaican, Megan Simmonds, was fifth with a time of 12.66 seconds, while American Rayniah Jones finished sixth in 12.83 seconds.
Amusan's second-place finish marks the end of a season where she remained among the world's leading hurdlers. Despite losing her long-standing world record to Masai Russell, Amusan continued to compete at a high level. Russell lowered Amusan's 12.12-second world record from the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, running 12.09 seconds in Zurich.
Amusan had held the global mark for four years before Russell broke it. The Nigerian also finished runner-up to Russell at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, clocking 12.34 seconds against the American's 12.22. This performance earned Amusan $75,000, while Russell took home the $150,000 top prize.
Russell also finished ahead of Amusan at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where the Nigerian placed fourth. Amusan's performance at the Athlos meeting brings the curtain down on her season, which had seen her compete in several high-profile events.
The Athlos meeting is part of a professional women-only track and field series launched in New York in 2024 by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The series boasts a $2.1 million prize purse, with athletes competing for $65,000 in each event, an Athlos crown designed by Tiffany & Co., and equity in the league.
The 2026 edition of the Athlos series was originally scheduled to expand into a two-day event, but the New York meeting planned for October 2 has since been cancelled. Despite this, the London meeting provided a fitting conclusion to Amusan's season, which saw her earn significant prize money and maintain her position among the world's top hurdlers.
Key points
- Amusan earned $35,000 for her second-place finish at the Athlos meeting in London.
- The Athlos series offers a $2.1 million prize purse, with athletes competing for $65,000 in each event.
- Amusan lost her world record to Masai Russell earlier in the season, but continued to compete at a high level.
