Team Nigeria Begins World Ultimate Championship With Amusan Silver in Budapest

Team Nigeria made a strong start to its campaign at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, with Tobi Amusan securing a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles while Ella Onojuvwevwo narrowly missed out on a place in the 400m final.

Amusan delivered a solid performance in a highly competitive hurdles final, clocking 12.34 seconds to finish second behind American star Masai Russell, who retained her dominance in the event with a winning time of 12.22 seconds. Dutch athlete Nadine Visser completed the podium in 12.39 seconds.

The result gives Amusan a strong finish to her campaign despite facing a resurgent Russell, who broke Amusan's former world record earlier this season with a 12.09-second run in Zurich.

Amusan had earlier booked her place in the final after finishing second in her semifinal in 12.49 seconds, behind Devynne Charlton.

Meanwhile, Ella Onojuvwevwo was unable to progress from the women's 400m semifinals despite producing a competitive run.

The Nigerian finished sixth in her semifinal in 50.50 seconds, with Marileidy Paulino winning the heat in 49.58 seconds ahead of Salwa Eid Naser and Nickisha Pryce. The result ended Onojuvwevwo's individual campaign in Budapest.

Onojuvwevwo came into the championship with plenty of momentum after an impressive 2026 season, including her breakthrough 49.59-second personal best earlier in the year.

For Nigeria, Amusan's silver medal provides an encouraging start to the country's campaign at the new global athletics event. With more Nigerian athletes still scheduled to compete in Budapest, attention now turns to the remaining events and the possibility of adding to the medal tally.

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is making its debut in Budapest from September 11–13, bringing together many of the world's leading athletes in a new three-day competition format.