World 100m women’s hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan, will pocket $20,000 from kits supplier, HiRacer, following her silver medal triumph at the ongoing 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, who made the disclosure during a meeting held on Monday night in Tokyo with Amusan and the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, also emphasised AFN’s renewed dedication to enhancing athletes’ welfare.
At the meeting, Okowa made it clear that there is no personal rift between him and Amusan, describing her as a valuable asset to the federation. Addressing recent reports of a kits-related controversy, Okowa clarified that it was merely a misunderstanding and assured that all issues had been amicably resolved.
“HiRacer is ready to honour its $20,000 reward to Tobi for her silver medal performance. We are also in advanced talks with the company for a more robust and rewarding kits sponsorship deal,” Okowa stated.
Meanwhile, former World U-20 200m champion, Udodi Onwuzurike, will today battle the higher-ranked Kenneth Bednarek of the USA, the World and Olympic 200m silver medalist, and Canada’s Jerome Blake, among others, in heat three of the 200m first round at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The athletes are battling for one of the three automatic semifinals qualification spots. The Nigerian is bidding for his second semifinal appearance in his second outing at the Championships, having reached that stage on his debut in 2022 in Oregon, USA.
Apart from Bednarek and Blake, who, on paper, are expected to claim the first two spots, Onwuzurike will also face South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile.
The 23-year-old Dambile is making his third appearance at the Championships and has reached the 200m semifinals in each of his previous two outings.
Dambile has posted a faster time than Onwuzurike this year, clocking 20.01 seconds into a headwind at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April, which also stands as his personal best.
Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Abdul Atafi, with a season’s best of 20.14 seconds, is also faster than Onwuzurike on paper.
However, the Nigerian appears to be in better form heading into the championships, having run 20.17 seconds exactly one month ago in Leuven, Belgium, where, interestingly, Dambile finished behind him with a time of 20.24 seconds.
On paper, Onwuzurike is strongly favoured to secure a spot in the semifinals in what would be his second consecutive appearance at World Athletics’ flagship event. The first three finishers in each heat will qualify automatically for the semifinals, along with the six fastest non-automatic times.
