Nigerian sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan has pocketed $35,000 after finishing second in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Athlos meeting in London on Friday.
Amusan clocked 12.51 seconds (+1.2m/s) to narrowly miss out on victory, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind American Alaysha Johnson, who won in 12.50 seconds.
The race marked the end of Amusan’s season, with the former world record holder lining up against a strong field at StoneX Stadium in Barnet.
Johnson’s victory came in her 40th race of the season, while Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, the Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor record holder, finished third in 12.63 seconds.
Jamaica’s former world champion Danielle Williams also clocked 12.63 seconds to finish fourth, while compatriot Megan Simmonds was fifth in 12.66 seconds. American Rayniah Jones finished sixth in 12.83 seconds.
Johnson succeeds Masai Russell as the Athlos hurdles champion after Russell withdrew from the London meeting earlier in the week.
Russell, the reigning world record holder and Olympic champion, had been confirmed for the event but pulled out days after winning the Diamond League and the $150,000 World Ultimate Championship prize.
Amusan’s Season
The London result rounds off a season in which Amusan continued to compete at the highest level despite losing her long-standing 100m hurdles world record to Russell.
Russell clocked 12.09 seconds at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, taking three hundredths of a second off Amusan’s 12.12-second record set in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Amusan had held the world record for four years.
The Nigerian also finished second to Russell at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, running 12.34 seconds against Russell’s 12.22 seconds and earning $75,000.
She reached the final after finishing second in her semi-final in 12.49 seconds.
Russell has now finished ahead of Amusan three times in a row this season, having also defeated her at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where Amusan finished fourth.
About Athlos
Athlos is a professional, female-only track and field series created by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams.
The series debuted at Icahn Stadium in New York City on September 26, 2024, with a reported $2.1 million prize purse.
Athletes compete for a top prize of $65,000 in each event, alongside an Athlos crown designed by Tiffany & Co. Competitors are also offered equity in the league.
Ohanian told the BBC in May that the combination of prize money and equity was intended to give female athletes greater recognition and financial participation in the growth of the competition.
The series had been scheduled to expand to a two-day event in 2026, but the New York meeting initially scheduled for October 2 was cancelled.
