Tobi Amusan Earns $35,000 After Finishing Second At Athlos London

Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan earned $35,000 after finishing second in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Athlos meeting in London on Friday, September 18.

According to reports, Amusan clocked 12.51 seconds at StoneX Stadium in Barnet, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind American hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who claimed victory in 12.50 seconds with a 1.2m/s tailwind.

The race marked Johnson’s 40th of the season, while the result brought Amusan’s campaign to an end. Bahamas Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor record holder Devynne Charlton finished third in 12.63 seconds, while Jamaica’s former world champion Danielle Williams also recorded 12.63 seconds to take fourth place.

Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds finished fifth in 12.66 seconds, while American Rayniah Jones placed sixth in 12.83 seconds.

Johnson succeeded Olympic champion Masai Russell as the Athlos hurdles champion after Russell withdrew from the London meeting earlier in the week. Russell had been confirmed for the event following her Diamond League success and victory at the $150,000 World Ultimate Championship.

Amusan’s second-place finish came during a season in which she remained among the leading competitors in the women’s 100m hurdles despite losing her long-standing world record to Russell.

Russell broke Amusan’s 12.12-second world record by running 12.09 seconds at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich. Amusan had held the record for four years after setting it in the semi-final of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The Nigerian also finished behind Russell at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, where she ran 12.34 seconds compared with Russell’s 12.22 seconds and earned $75,000. Amusan had reached the final after finishing second in her semi-final in 12.49 seconds.

Russell also defeated Amusan at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where the Nigerian finished fourth.

Athlos is a professional women-only track and field series founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The inaugural meeting was held at Icahn Stadium in New York City on September 26, 2024, with a total prize purse of $2.1 million.

Athletes compete for a top prize of $65,000 in each event, alongside an Athlos crown designed by Tiffany & Co.

Organisers had planned to expand the series into a two-day event in 2026, but the New York meeting scheduled for October 2 was subsequently cancelled.