BUDAPEST: Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has finished second in the women’s 100m hurdles at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, securing a silver medal behind American Olympic champion Masai Russell.

Amusan clocked 12.34 seconds in Friday’s final, while Russell stormed to victory in 12.22 seconds. The Netherlands’ Nadine Visser completed the podium after crossing the line in 12.39 seconds.

The result gives Amusan a strong finish to a challenging period in her 2026 season, while Russell continued her remarkable run by adding the inaugural Ultimate Championship title to her growing list of achievements.

Russell entered the Budapest final as the clear favourite following her record-breaking performance at the Zurich Diamond League in August, where she ran 12.09 seconds to break Amusan’s world record in the 100m hurdles.

The American has remained unbeaten this season and also secured victory at the Diamond League Final in Brussels last week.

For Amusan, however, the silver medal represented a significant return to form after a difficult few weeks that included a third-place finish at the Commonwealth Games, the loss of her world record to Russell and a fourth-place finish at the Diamond League Final.

Speaking after the race, Amusan said she was grateful to God and determined to give everything she had in Budapest despite the physical and emotional challenges she had faced during the season.

First, God is good, the Nigerian hurdler said.

She explained that what had initially been an excellent season became difficult after she began dealing with physical setbacks.

What started off as an amazing season, you know, in between I had some nipping here and there. You know, I’m not a robot. You know, the body did shut down at a point,” Amusan said.

The former world record holder said she gradually rebuilt her confidence by taking each competition one race at a time before arriving in Budapest with a clear determination to fight until the finish.

Coming into this championship, my mindset going to the line was, ‘We die here.’ I just kept telling myself I have to give it my all,” she said.

Amusan said she was prepared to accept whatever result emerged after giving everything she had in the final.

All I knew was, look, I did it. That’s all I knew. And the second I saw the second-place finish, I was like, look, I can’t complain. God is good,” she added.

The 29-year-old also acknowledged the emotional toll of the setbacks she had experienced in recent weeks, particularly after losing her world record.

According to Amusan, the support of her family, mentor, coach and boyfriend played an important role in helping her regain her confidence and approach the Budapest competition with renewed belief.

I’m not going to lie. It was very rough,” she said.

I mean, to my family, to my mentor, to my coach, to my boyfriend. That’s brought life back into me.

Amusan revealed that encouragement from those close to her helped her put the disappointment of previous competitions behind her and concentrate fully on the championship final.

This morning it was all about put the past behind you and just go for it. And those few sentences that I got here and there got me to this finish line today,” she said.

The Nigerian star described her silver medal at the Ultimate Championship, alongside her Commonwealth medal, as an important statement of resilience following the challenges she endured.

With the Commonwealth medal, it is a statement, Amusan said.

Despite finishing behind Russell, Amusan remains one of the leading figures in the event and believes the women’s 100m hurdles is entering an increasingly competitive era.

With Russell now holding the world record and a new generation of elite hurdlers closing the gap, Amusan expects the battle at the top to become even tougher in the coming seasons.

Honestly, in that event, I think I would be the sleeping lion, she said.

I think the women’s hurdles is just getting scarier every damn year. Next year, I do not know what’s going to happen. But it’s going to be bloody.

Amusan’s silver medal in Budapest therefore provides a positive response to a difficult stretch of the season and keeps her firmly among the world’s elite 100m hurdlers as she looks ahead to the next chapter of her career.