Joe
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan today begins her quest for Olympic glory as the 100m Hurdles event commences.
The World champion will run in Lane 9 in the first heat of the day.
She will be up against Australia’s celebrated hurdler, Michelle Jenneke, popularly known as the ‘Dancing Hurdler,’ as the events unfold from August 7 to 11 at the iconic Stade de France.
This marks Jenneke’s second Olympic appearance, following her debut at Rio 2016, where she clocked 13.26 seconds in the heats but did not advance to the next round.
Jenneke first captured global attention with her viral warm-up dance at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona. She secured a silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and debuted on the senior Australian team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, finishing fifth.
Despite missing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Jenneke bounced back with remarkable performances in 2022 and 2023, achieving the 10 fastest times of her career. In 2023 alone, she recorded sub-13-second times on 14 occasions, becoming Australia’s second-fastest woman in the 100m hurdles.
A three-time national champion (2016, 2023, and 2024), Jenneke qualified for Paris 2024 by winning the 100m hurdles at the Australian National Championships with a time of 12.88 seconds.
Joining Jenneke in the event are fellow Australians Liz Clay and Celeste Mucci. The competition promises to be fierce, with standout athletes like USA’s Masai Russell, who clocked an impressive 12.25 seconds in Oregon, placing her fourth on the all-time list, and Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, the world record holder with a time of 12.12 seconds.
Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent and France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela are also strong contenders. Nugent set a national record of 12.28 seconds at the 2024 Jamaican Championships, while Samba-Mayela triumphed at the 2024 European Championships with a record-setting 12.31 seconds.
The women’s 100m hurdles at Paris 2024 will commence with the heats on August 7, followed by the repechage round on August 8, semi-finals on August 9, and the final on August 10 at the Stade de France.
