TOBI Amusan won her second big race in a matter of days by claiming the women’s 100m hurdles title at the Nigerian Athletics Championships in Benin City, Edo State today.
The world record holder and current world champion in the distance only over the weekend won her first Diamond League race of the year in Stockholm, Sweden.
She followed up the impressive performance with victory in the final at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium today, clocking 12.70 seconds to clinch her third consecutive national title.
Amusan was heads and shoulders above her rivals, winning by more than a full second as Faith Osamuyi finished second in 13.90s and Kemi Francis-Peterson third in 14.14s.
In the men’s 100m, a new champion emerged today, as Usheoritse Itsekiri won his first national title.
In a strong final line-up, Itsekiri won in a personal best time of 10.02s, with Seye Ogunlewe second in 10.11s and Alaba Akintola closely behind in third place with 10.12s. Defending champion Favour Ashe came in fourth in 10.13s.
Itsekiri’s victory was however not enough to earn him a spot in next month’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary as he failed to beat the 10.00s entry standard for the global showpiece.
The 25-year-old has until July 30 to achieve the entry mark.
In the men’s shot put, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi successfully defended his national title, as he won the final with a distance of 21.09m.
Enekwechi has now won four Nigerian titles since his first triumph in 2016.
The championship continues tomorrow with other finals to be decided.
