Nigeria, Sept. 14 -- Nigeria's sprint queen Tobi Amusan made light work of her opening race at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, cruising into the women's 100m hurdles semifinals on Sunday morning.

The world record holder, running in the last of six heats, produced a clean start and maintained her rhythm all the way to the finish, clocking 12.53 seconds.

She finished ahead of Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas (12.69s) and Italy's Elena Carraro (12.86s), with all three progressing to the next round.

Amusan's time ranked fifth fastest overall on the day, with Jamaica's Danielle Williams leading the field after posting 12.40s in heat two.

Other standout performers included Grace Stark of the USA (12.46s), Nadine Visser of the Net...