Amusan to miss first Lausanne Diamond League meeting in three years

Amusan to miss first Lausanne Diamond League meeting in three years

For the first time in three years, Nigeria’s queen of athletics, Tobi Amusan will not be competing at the 49th edition of Athletissima, the 11th leg of the 2024 Diamond League meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland this Sunday.

The Nigerian’s name was conspicuously missing in the list of confirmed high hurdlers for the 100m hurdles event after placing second in 2022 and 2023 behind then reigning Olympic champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.

Amusan ran 12.45 in 2022 behind Camacho-Quinn who set a 12.34 meeting record just over a month after the Nigerian ran 12.12 to set a World record and a wind-aided 12.06 to win the world title in Oregon, USA.

The 27 year old would go on to successfully defend her Diamond League title that year.

In 2023, Amusan was second again in 12.47 in the race the Puerto Rican ran 12.40 to win but it was the Nigerian that finished the season in glory by winning the Diamond League title for the third year in a row.

But with her absence in Lausanne, Amusan is in danger of not qualifying for the Diamond League final in Brussels next month as she is ranked 10th in the event’s ranking with the four points she garnered in Xiamen, China when she placed fifth in the race.

Confirmed for the event are Camacho-Quinn who will be for a hat-trick of wins and tops the standings with 16 points, home girl, Kambundji Ditaji who is third with 13 points, former World champion, Danielle Williams of Jamaica who has garnered 11 points as well as a few other finalists at the Paris Olympics including USA’ as Alaysha Johnson who has the same points as Amusan.