Nigeria Loses Bid to Reinstate Tobi Amusan After Missing Protest Window

France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela stepped out of her lane just before the finish line in the Women’s 100m Hurdles semifinals, opening the door for Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan to potentially qualify for the final if an appeal were made by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) or the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).

However, Nigeria’s opportunity to protest the result passed after they missed the one-hour window to file an official appeal.

Olympic rules are clear: runners must stay within their assigned lanes, which measure 1.22 meters (4 feet) wide, from start to finish. Any athlete who runs outside their lane is subject to disqualification.

This rule explicitly states that an athlete must maintain their lane throughout the race, a rule that Samba-Mayela of France appears to have violated.

Samba-Mayela finished fourth in semifinal 3 with a time of 12.52 seconds, qualifying for the final as one of the next two fastest times across all semifinals.

Sources in Paris have lamented the failure of the AFN and NOC to lodge the protest within the required timeframe, with one source saying, “It was a missed opportunity that could have changed the outcome of the race for Amusan.”

Another added, “The rules are clear, but without a timely protest, there’s nothing more that can be done.”

If the Olympic officials had reviewed the race, Samba-Mayela could have been disqualified, potentially allowing Tobi Amusan to take her place in the final.