Amusan moves up to third in the world rankings.
Amusan moves up to third in the world rankings.
Tobi Amusan has climbed to third place in the latest World Athletics 100m hurdles rankings, becoming Nigeria’s highest-ranked athlete after winning silver at the World Championships in Tokyo.
The 28-year-old world record holder moved up from ninth to third with 1,430 points, ranking behind the United States’ Grace Stark, who leads the standings, and Switzerland’s newly crowned world champion Ditaji Kambundji, who is second.
Amusan also made significant progress in the overall women’s rankings, jumping 40 spots from 68th to 28th. She is currently the only Nigerian woman in the global top 100, after Favour Ofili dropped out due to her switch of allegiance to Turkey and absence from the championships.
Another Nigerian athlete who impressed in the update is Ezekiel Nathaniel. The 22-year-old 400m hurdler, who broke the national record five times in the 2025 season, climbed from 59th to 15th in the overall rankings.
Within his event, he is unmoved from his fifth position in the world, behind new world champion Rai Benjamin of the United States, world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway, Brazil’s former world champion Alison dos Santos, and Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba. The only change in that top five saw Benjamin move above Warholm after the Norwegian missed out on the medals in Tokyo.
Shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also edged into the global top 100, now ranked 99th overall after finishing fifth at the World Championships, where he gained 250 points to bring his total to 1,373.
In the men’s shot put rankings, he sits seventh following a season that saw him become the first African athlete to throw beyond 22m, with his 22.10m effort at the Prefontaine Classic in May. He threw 21.52m in the Tokyo final.
Among the sprinters, Kanyinsola Ajayi made a remarkable leap in the rankings after finishing sixth in the men’s 100m final. The Auburn University athlete climbed from 29th to 13th in the 100m event rankings and made an extraordinary jump of 246 places overall, rising from 417th to 171st.
His compatriot and Auburn teammate, Isreal Okon, who won his opening heat in Tokyo before bowing out in the semi-finals, advanced to 38th in the 100m and 550th in the overall standings. Another rising prospect, Udodi Onwuzurike, improved in the 200m rankings from 30th to 25th, while holding 72nd in the 100m and 463rd overall.
Other Nigerian athletes also recorded notable shifts. In the men’s 400m, Chidi Okezie sits 32nd in his event and 527th overall, while Samuel Ogazi ranks 38th and 614th globally. In the long jump, Charles Godfred is 38th and 825th overall.
On the women’s side, Ese Brume, once ranked as high as second in the long jump, has dropped to 28th in the event and 800th overall after her early exit in Tokyo. Her younger compatriot, Prestina Ochonogor, the African U-20 record holder, is ranked 42nd in the discipline and 1,326th overall. In the discus throw, Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons and Obiageri Amaechi are ranked 25th and 30th, while placing 1,303rd and 1,597th overall respectively. Hammer thrower Sade Olatoye holds 32nd in her event and 1,660th overall. Sprinter Rosemary Chukwuma, who exited in the women’s 100m heats, stands 57th in the event and 750th globally.
At the top of the global rankings, Sweden’s Armand Duplantis remains dominant in the pole vault with 1,638 points, maintaining a 119-point lead over Benjamin in second place and 123 points ahead of American 200m world champion Noah Lyles in third.
In the women’s overall standings, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet retained her lead after securing double gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m in Tokyo. U.S. sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden capped an outstanding season by climbing to second following her 100m and 200m titles, overtaking Faith Kipyegon, who slipped to third after losing her 5,000m crown to Chebet but successfully defending her 1,500m title.
