Nigerian sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, solidified her status as a top contender for the upcoming World Athletics Championships with a commanding victory at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old clocked an impressive 12.45 seconds, securing her second hurdles win of the season and reinforcing her fine form following a strong performance at the Paris Diamond League last weekend.
Amusan, who set a meet record with an identical 12.45s at the Rabat Diamond League in May, cruised past her competitors, finishing well ahead of Slovakia’s Viktoria Forster, who posted a season’s best of 12.74s for second place.
Ireland’s Sarah Lavin also impressed, shaving over a tenth of a second off her previous best to claim third with a season’s best 12.76s. Lavin’s performance marked another step forward in her promising European outdoor campaign.
The Golden Spike meet, a prestigious stop on the athletics calendar, saw several other standout performances, with meet records tumbling across events.
In the women’s 400m, Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser blazed to victory in a meet-record time of 49.15s, outpacing American Lynna Irby-Jackson (49.82s) and Dutch Olympic medallist Femke Bol (49.98s).
The men’s 200m was equally electrifying, as Australian teenage prodigy Gout Gout stormed to a lifetime best and national record of 20.02s. The 17-year-old outran Puerto Rico’s Reynier Mena (20.19s) and Britain’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, who clocked a season’s best 20.60s.
Gout’s performance drew comparisons to sprinting icon Usain Bolt, whose 20.28s at the 2006 Golden Spike meet was surpassed by the young Australian. While Gout has yet to break the 20-second barrier, his rapid rise has captivated the athletics world.
A dominant force in age-group competitions, Gout holds Australia’s under-16 records in the 100m and 200m and earned silver in the 200m at last year’s World Under-20 Championships in Lima.
Amusan’s victory and the slew of record-breaking performances underscored the high level of competition in Ostrava, setting the stage for an exciting buildup to the World Championships.