SPORT

  By Eniola Olagunju     World record holder, Tobi Amusan, finished third in the women's 100 meters hurdles at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai on Saturday, 16th May, 2026. She recorded a season's best of 12.41 seconds in a race that pushed her schedule and her skills to the limit.     The Nigerian athlete had just left Ghana on Thursday after winning gold at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra. She arrived in Shanghai on Friday for the Diamond League meeting. Less than 48 hours later, she faced a tough competition that included the Olympic champion, the world champion, and the reigning world indoor champion.     Olympic champion Masai Russell delivered a strong performance, winning in a meeting record and world-leading time of 12.25 seconds. Bahamian Devynne Charlton, the reigning world indoor champion, took second place with a new national record of 12.38 seconds.     Amusan's 12.41 was a big improvement from the 12.84 ...

  By Eniola Olagunju  Nigeria's mixed 4x100m relay team produced the performance of the weekend at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday, May 2, obliterating the African record and securing direct qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, even as other relay events painted a more complicated picture for the nation. The quartet of Favour Ashe, Jennifer Chukwuka-Obi, Chidera Ezeakor, and Maria Thompson delivered a composed and explosive performance in Heat 1 at the Sir Seretse Khama National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, clocking 40.24 seconds, a new African record and a stunning 1.20-second improvement on the continental mark they had set just two months ago. Nigeria were drawn in a fierce Heat 1 field that included Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, three of the most decorated sprint relay nations in the world but answered every challenge with precision and pace. Canada took the heat with a blistering 40.07 seconds, a...