Amusan seeks first win in her opening Diamond League race, renews rivalry with Camacho-Quinn
World 100m hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan will be seeking to win her first Diamond League season opener when she files out for the event at the opening leg of the 2024 Diamond League competition in Xiamen, China this weekend.
The 27 year old has not won her first opening race in the competition since she made her debut at the Golden Gala – Pietro Mennea in Rome, Italy in May 2018. She was third in the race.
Now in her sixth campaign in athletics’ premier one-day series, the best Amusan has finished in her opening races in the event have been second in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
She will now hope to kickstart her season by laying down a marker ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris and the Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium in September.
Amusan will also renew her rivalry with reigning Olympic champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico as the duo will battle for supremacy for the eighth year running.
The Nigerian and the Puerto Rican first clashed during their American collegiate days with Camacho-Quinn winning their first duel. This was at the 2016 NCAA Division outdoor championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Camacho-Quinn also won the next face-off at the Rio Olympics in Brazil but was disqualified in the semifinals at the Games while Amusan placed third but could not make it to the final.
Amusan extracted her pound of flesh in 2017 by stopping Camacho-Quinn from successfully defending her NCAA 100m hurdles title with the Nigerian emerging champions.
Since that first meeting in June 2016, the duo has met 18 more times with Camacho-Quinn winning 12 and the Nigerian just seven including winning at the World Championships in 2022 and the Diamond League finals in 2022 and 2023.
