Nigeria’s track champion and World 100 metres hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan is set to light up the track once again, as she officially headlines the star-studded entry list for the 2025 Diamond League season opener in Xiamen, China.
Scheduled for April 26 at the state-of-the-art Egret Stadium, the Xiamen Meeting will mark the third edition of the Chinese leg of the prestigious series—and Amusan’s first major outing of the year on the global stage.
Her presence in the women’s 100 metres hurdles instantly elevates the field, which boasts some of the fiercest rivals in world athletics.
Among them are Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, the world indoor 60m hurdles record holder and currently ranked seventh globally, Jamaica’s reigning world champion Danielle Williams (PB 12.32), and a formidable American trio of Grace Stark, Tonea Marshall, and Olympic gold medalist Nia Ali.
Amusan, who set the world record of 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Championships, enters the 2025 campaign ranked 13th globally, but looks poised to climb that list quickly after a strong start to her season.
Her most recent appearance came just days ago at the Velocity Fest 16 in Kingston, Jamaica, where she blazed to victory in the women’s 100 metres final, clocking 11.28 seconds (-0.5 wind)—a notable return to form in her first race since the Paris Olympics and her debut meet with the Racers Track Club.
She certainly has a point to prove after finishing fifth at last year’s Diamond League Xiamen meet, where she ran a season-best 12.58 seconds in a final dominated by Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.45).
Charlton and France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela also bested Amusan on that day.
The 2025 edition presents a fresh canvas—and an opportunity for redemption. With the World Athletics Championshipsin Tokyo this September and the Diamond League Final in Zurich in August, Xiamen serves as an early litmus test for Amusan’s title ambitions.
Also set to compete in Xiamen are some of track and field’s biggest names, including Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump), Grant Holloway (110m hurdles), and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, making this opener a microcosm of the elite battles expected throughout the season.
