Tobi Amusan reclaims spot among world’s top 100 athletes

Nigeria and Africa’s fastest woman in the 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, has made a remarkable comeback to the top 100 in the World Athletics women’s overall rankings.

Amusan, who dropped out of the prestigious list last year for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2019, has surged back to 88th in the world with a ranking score of 1,366.

She first broke into the top 100 in 2019, debuting at No. 96. Her resurgence has been powered by stellar performances on the track, including two 12.45-second finishes and a season-best of 12.24 seconds at the 2025 Paris Diamond League, where she finished second behind Grace Stark.

The 12.24-second run is her fastest time since setting the world record of 12.12 seconds in Oregon, USA, in 2022. With her return to form, Amusan has reclaimed the title of Nigeria’s highest-ranked female athlete, overtaking Favour Ofili, who finished 2024 as the country’s top-ranked woman but has now dropped to 175th globally.

In her specialist event, the 100m hurdles, Amusan has climbed back into the world’s top 10, now ranked No. 9 after finishing last year in 13th place.

Her impressive return signals strong prospects ahead of major championships, with expectations high that she could match or even surpass her exceptional 2022 season, when she was crowned the world’s best sprint hurdler and ranked fifth overall in the women’s global rankings.

Amusan remains a beacon of excellence for Nigerian and African athletics, showing resilience and determination in her comeback to the global stage.