Tobi Amusan eased to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles heat at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.
On Sunday, Amusan clocked 12.53s to claim first place ahead of Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas and Italy’s Elena Carraro, who settled for second and third positions, respectively.
The world record holder began her hunt for gold strongly, dominating the race despite recording only the fifth-best reaction time to the starting gun.
The Ogun State native has been drawn in Heat 2 of the semi-final, where she will face the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser, ranked third globally in the 100m hurdles. Amusan currently holds the ninth spot in the world rankings.
The first two finishers in each of the three heats will progress to the final, along with two others posting the fastest overall times across the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Oyesade Olatoye could not secure a place in the hammer throw final during Sunday morning’s session.
The US-born athlete, who switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2019, managed 68.82m on her third attempt after opening with 66.78m.
Her performance, however, proved inadequate as she finished 10th in category A of the qualification round, ending her campaign at the event.
With Olatoye’s exit, Amusan remains Nigeria’s sole female contender at the championships.