Amusan ends season with $35,000 after narrow Athlos defeat in London
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has rounded off her season with a second-place finish in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the Athlos meeting in London, taking home $35,000.
The former world record holder clocked 12.51 seconds with a legal +1.2m/s wind at StoneX Stadium on Friday, finishing just one-hundredth of a second behind American Alaysha Johnson, who crossed the line in 12.50 seconds.
It was a closely contested race, with Johnson claiming the Athlos hurdles title after completing her 40th race of the season.
Bahamas star Devynne Charlton, the Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor record holder, finished third in 12.63 seconds, the same time recorded by Jamaica’s former world champion Danielle Williams in fourth.
Another Jamaican, Megan Simmonds, was fifth in 12.66 seconds, while American Rayniah Jones finished sixth in 12.83 seconds.
Amusan’s second-place finish brings the curtain down on a season in which she remained among the world’s leading hurdlers, despite losing her long-standing world record to Masai Russell.
Russell lowered Amusan’s 12.12-second world record from the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, running 12.09 seconds in Zurich. Amusan had held the global mark for four years.
The Nigerian also finished runner-up to Russell at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, clocking 12.34 seconds against the American’s 12.22. That performance earned Amusan $75,000, while Russell took home the $150,000 top prize.
Russell also finished ahead of Amusan at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where the Nigerian placed fourth.
At the Athlos meeting, Russell was expected to defend her hurdles title but withdrew earlier in the week, shortly after winning the Diamond League and the $150,000 World Ultimate Championship.
Athlos is a professional women-only track and field series launched in New York in 2024 by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The series boasts a $2.1 million prize purse, with athletes competing for $65,000 in each event, an Athlos crown designed by Tiffany & Co., and equity in the league.
The 2026 edition was originally scheduled to expand into a two-day event, but the New York meeting planned for October 2 has since been cancelled.
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