Tobi Amusan, determined and resolute, expressed her commitment to returning even stronger next year.
Following her sixth-place finish in the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, the 26-year-old shared that reaching the final had been an arduous journey, particularly considering the challenges she faced in the past few weeks.
“It has been God, my team and my family,” the 2022 gold winner told reporters.
She thanked all her fans for supporting her through the ups and downs, promising that she will be back stronger.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one; nobody likes to lose but considering what I have gone through in the past couple of months, I’m so grateful that I came out,” said Amusan.
Jamaican Danielle Williams won the race on Thursday in a season-best of 12.43s while Olympic champion, Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn came second in 12.44s. USA’s Kendra Harrison came third in 12.46s while Amusan ran in 12.62s in her third consecutive final.
Amusan’s dethronement is a major upset as she had been the dominant force in the 100m hurdles since winning the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon.
She had a difficult build-up to the 2023 World Championships. She was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for three missed whereabouts failures.
The suspension was announced after it was discovered that Amusan had missed three drug tests within a 12-month period. This charge carried a two-year suspension term, even if an athlete has never failed a drug test.
Ultimately, the Disciplinary Tribunal announced the verdict which stated, “Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period”.
Amusan remains the African and Commonwealth Games two-time champion.
