Tobi Amusan Wins Stockholm Diamond League

• Ogbemudia Stadium agog for World Championship Trials

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Nigeria’s golden girl of the track, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, ran 12.52secs to win the women’s 100m hurdles at the Stockholm Diamond League which held at the Bauhaus Galan on Sunday evening.

The petit Nigerian barrier sprint runner who last year broke the world record at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon, USA with a new 12.12 secs, was the fastest to hit the finish line ahead of Sarah Lavin of Ireland who clocked a PB  of 12.73s to place second. Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska settled for the consolation third in 12.78s.

Earlier on Friday, the double Commonwealth Games champion finished second in the same event at the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League behind Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who clocked 12.40 secs to win the race.

Athletes are awarded points instead of medals for competing in each leg of the Diamond League series.

The top eight athletes in each event at the end of all the legs will qualify for the Diamond League Final, where they will compete for the trophy.

The competition in Stockholm was the seventh event of the 2023 Diamond League season.

The Diamond League 2023 series will wrap up with the two-day final in Eugene, the USA on September 16 and 17.

Meanwhile, thousands of athletics lovers in Benin City and it’s environs will begin to storm the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium today to catch glimpses of foreign-based athletes in training ahead the National Trials to pick the nation’s flag bearers to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

  Over 160 athletes, including  some home-based, those from the United States and some European countries will be on parade at the  Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium starting from July 5 to 7 to battle for tickets to Budapest.

  Although the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) set July 4 (tomorrow) as arrival date, some of the foreign-based stars have started arriving in Benin City.

  “The security personnel at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will be  having tough time controlling the large turn out of fans. The fans want to watch the foreign-based athletes in training,” an AFN official, who is the advanced team to Edo State revealed yesterday. 

  “I am sure the crowd will be more this year compared to what we had last year because of the superlative performance by Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume at the last edition of the World  Championship in Oregon, United States”, the official added.

   Last year, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium was the venue for the National Trials, where athletes for both the World Championships in Oregon, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, were picked.

The Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Trials, Yusuf Alli, assured track & field buffs that the government and people of Edo State would give the visiting athletes and officials the best treatment throughout their stay in Benin City.

  Alli, who is the Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission, and whose Long Jump record set in 1989 in Lagos still stands till date, also assured all yesterday that there would be side attractions like cultural dance to entertain the fans.

    “Apart from being the best Sporting State in Nigeria, Edo State is also the home of culture and entertainment. All these will be on display throughout the National Trials,” Alli promised.

  All eyes will be on the reigning World Champions sprint hurdler, Tobiloba Amusan in Benin City. So also is Ese Brume who was a silver medalist at the last edition in USA.

Others include; sprinter Favour Ofili, 400m Hurdles runner, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Javelin thrower, Nnamdi Prosper, Shot Put thrower, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Triple jumper, Ruth Usoro, Chioma Onyekwere. Sprinters like Godson Brume, Udodi Onwuzurike, home boy, Samuel Ogazi and veteran quarter miler Patience Okon-George will also be among the stars on parade.