Amusan’s 12.12 World record still reigns as Nigeria’s greatest outdoor performance

If there remains any debate over who holds the title of Nigeria’s greatest female track and field athlete between Olympic long jump gold medalist Chioma Ajunwa and reigning 100m hurdles world record holder Tobiloba Amusan, the performances of these two titans, evaluated through the lens of the 2025 World Athletics Scoring Tables, offer compelling clarity.

Amusan once again represented Nigeria with pride at the recently concluded World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

However, her showing there did not rank among the all-time greatest Nigerian performances. Instead, it is her electrifying 12.12 seconds run in Oregon three years ago which earned her the world title and a staggering 1272 points, that remains the highest rated performance by a Nigerian woman (outdoor) in track and field history under the revised scoring system.

Now 28, Amusan dipped under 12.30 seconds for only the third time this season with a 12.24 second finish (1255 points) at the Meeting de Paris Diamond League. That performance is now tied as the second best outdoor mark by a Nigerian woman, alongside Ese Brume’s 7.17m African record leap in 2021 at the Chula Vista Field Festival in California, USA.

Amusan’s 12.29 second sprint that secured her second Diamond League title in Zurich in 2022 ranks as the third best performance (1250 points), followed by her 12.30 seconds (1246 points) run to defend her Commonwealth Games crown in Birmingham that same year.

This mark shares the fourth spot with Blessing Okagbare’s 10.79 seconds Nigerian 100m record set in 2013.

Ajunwa’s historic 7.12m leap to clinch Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 now ranks fifth (1244 points) under the 2025 scoring tables.

Jointly occupying the sixth spot are Favour Ofili’s 21.96 seconds Nigerian 200m record (1242 points) and Falilat Ogunkoya’s 49.10 seconds bronze medal winning run in the 400m at the Atlanta Games.

These rankings are based on the updated World Athletics Scoring Tables, which provide a standardized method to compare performances across different disciplines.

Whether it’s a sprint, hurdle, or field event, the scoring system assigns points derived from statistical modeling, allowing for objective comparisons of athletic excellence.

That’s how Sportsnow.com.ng compiled its definitive list of Nigeria’s top female track and field performances.