Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan won silver in the women’s 100m hurdles at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Friday, finishing behind United States Olympic champion Masai Russell.
Amusan clocked 12.34 seconds, while Russell claimed the title in 12.22 seconds. The Netherlands’ Nadine Visser completed the podium in 12.39 seconds.
The result marked another meeting between Amusan and Russell after the American broke the Nigerian’s world record with a 12.09-second run at the Zurich Diamond League in August.
Russell entered the Budapest final as the favourite following her record-breaking performance in Zurich and maintained her remarkable 2026 form with another victory. The American remains unbeaten this year, adding the Ultimate Championship title to her Diamond League Final triumph in Brussels last week.
For Amusan, the silver medal represented a strong response to a difficult spell in her season.
“First, God is good,” Amusan said.
“What started off as an amazing season, you know, in between I had some nipping here and there. You know, I’m not a robot. You know, the body did shut down at a point.”
The former world record holder said she gradually regained her rhythm by taking each race as it came before arriving in Budapest determined to give everything she had.
“Coming into this championship, my mindset going to the line was, ‘We die here.’ I just kept telling myself I have to give it my all,” she said.
Regardless of the result, Amusan said she was determined to leave everything on the track.
“All I knew was, look, I did it. That’s all I knew. And the second I saw the second-place finish, I was like, look, I can’t complain. God is good,” she said.
The silver medal comes after a challenging few weeks for Amusan. She finished third at the Commonwealth Games, saw her long-standing world record fall to Russell and then placed fourth at the Diamond League Final.
She acknowledged the emotional toll of the setbacks but credited her family, mentor, coach and boyfriend with helping her rebuild her confidence.
“I’m not going to lie. It was very rough,” Amusan said.
“I mean, to my family, to my mentor, to my coach, to my boyfriend. That’s brought life back into me.”
Amusan said the encouragement she received from those close to her helped her put the disappointments behind her and focus on delivering in Budapest.
“This morning it was all about put the past behind you and just go for it. And those few sentences that I got here and there got me to this finish line today,” she said.
The Nigerian said her silver medal, together with her Commonwealth bronze, was a statement of her ability to respond to adversity.
“With the Commonwealth medal, it is a statement,” she said.
Amusan also acknowledged the growing depth and competitiveness of the women’s 100m hurdles, predicting an even tougher battle among the world’s leading hurdlers in the years ahead.
“Honestly, in that event, I think I would be the sleeping lion,” she said.
“I think the women’s hurdles is just getting scarier every damn year. Next year, I do not know what’s going to happen. But it’s going to be bloody.”
