Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, the women’s 100m hurdles world record holder, has dropped to third in the latest global athletics rankings despite boosting her points tally with impressive performances at two Diamond League meetings in China.
Amusan increased her ranking points from 1,379 to 1,385 after clocking 12.41 seconds at the Shanghai Diamond League and a season’s best 12.28 seconds at the Xiamen meeting, where she finished second behind American hurdler Masai Russell.
Russell’s dominant performances in China proved decisive, as the Olympic champion claimed back-to-back victories in Shanghai and Xiamen to surge to the top of the world rankings. The 26-year-old recorded times of 12.25 seconds in Shanghai and an outstanding 12.14 seconds in Xiamen — a new United States record that came just two hundredths of a second shy of Amusan’s world record of 12.12 seconds.
Her points tally climbed to 1,391, placing her ahead of fellow American Grace Stark, who occupies second place with 1,386 points. Amusan now sits third with 1,385 points.
Having been ranked fourth little more than a week ago, Russell has emerged as one of the biggest challengers to Amusan’s dominance, both in the rankings and on the track this season.
Speaking after her record-breaking run in Xiamen, Russell made no secret of her ambitions, signalling her determination to continue pushing the limits in pursuit of global supremacy in the event.
