Africa is blessed with female sprinters who have always competed with the best in the world. In Part 1 of our series on Africa’s Top 10 Female Sprinters for 2025, we covered ranks 10 to 6. This part features our Top 5 list of female sprinters. Let’s go!
5. Jessika Gbai
Ivoirian sprinter Jessika Gbai kicked off her season with a Personal Best (PB) of 37.62s in the 300m at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational in Florida. The Nike athlete also placed 3rd with a new Indoor NR of 53.19s in the 400m at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
In the 200m at the Shanghai Diamond League, she placed 6th with 22.88s and ran 22.85s for 3rd in the 200m at the Grand Slam Track (GST) Philadelphia. In June, she placed 6th over 200m at the Rome Diamond League with a time of 22.95s. She also posted an outdoor SB in the 400m at the same event. At the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, TN, she set a season best of 11.24s in the 100m.
At the World Championships in Tokyo, Gbai ran 22.81s to place 3rd in her 200m heat. She then placed 5th in the semi-finals with an SB of 22.56s. She ended her season in 5th place in the 200m at the Athlos Meet, clocking 22.92s.
4. Bassant Hemida
Bassant Hemida, Egypt’s record holder in the 100m, 200m, and 400m, believes her country has the potential to produce champions. She started her season with a Season’s Best (SB) of 7.37s in the 60m at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting in Dortmund.
She set a new Egyptian record in the 400m with 52.17s at the INIT Indoor Meeting in Karlsruhe and also stormed to victory in the 400m at the Botswana Grand Prix in a new National Record (NR) of 50.77s. At the Arab Athletics Championships in Oran, Hemida won the sprint double with times of 11.52s and 22.91s respectively, and a Silver in the 4x100m. These performances earned her the title of best athlete of the tournament.
She set an SB of 11.49s in the 100m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, and 22.76s in the 200m at the Anhalt Meeting in Dessau. Hemida also secured another victory over 400m at the CITIUS Meeting in Bern. At the World Championships in Tokyo, she lowered her NR to 50.36s, placing 3rd in her heat. She finished 5th in the semis with a time of 50.69s, placing 16th overall.
3. Thelma Davies
Liberian sprinter Thelma Davies began her 2025 season with 7.27s in the women’s 60m Olympic Development heat in Baton Rouge, winning the final with 7.23s, matching her PB in the process.
At the Battle on the Bayou, she set a new 200m SB of 22.46s. She then finished 3rd in the women’s 100m at the LSU Alumni Gold with an SB of 11.11s, and then won the LSU Invitational with an improved SB of 11.03s.
Davies won the 200m Promotional Event at the Stockholm Diamond League with 22.42s and finished 3rd in the women’s 100m final at the Paavo Nurmi Games with 11.14s. At the Ostrava Golden Spike, she set a new PB and Liberian Record of 10.91s (0.6) to win the 100m. She followed that up with a 3rd place finish at the Prefontaine Classic women’s 100m Invitational, crossing the line in 10.96s.
Making her World Championships debut in Tokyo, Davies placed 3rd in the 100m (11.12s) and 2nd in the 200m (22.76s) heats. She reached the semis in both events, finishing 7th in the 100m (11.24s) and 6th in the 200m (23.00s).
2. Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith
Ivorian sprinter Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith had a formidable season, finishing Top 3 in most of her races. She ran her first sub-10s at the Ostrava Golden Spike, clocking 10.92s for 2nd place. She followed up with 10.90s at the Prefontaine Classic, taking 3rd. At the Silesia Diamond League, she ran a season best of 10.87s to place 3rd in the women’s 100m.
She also secured 3rd in the 200m at the Lausanne Diamond League with a time of 22.37s. In the Diamond League Final in Zurich, she finished 3rd in both the 100m and 200m. At the World Championships, Ta Lou-Smith, the African Record holder in the 100m, was the only African in both the 100m and 200m finals. She placed 7th in both events.
The 36-year-old, who has won eight medals at the African Championships, ended her season at the Athlos Meet in New York. She finished 3rd in the 200m and 4th in the 100m. Ta Lou-Smith, a four-time world medallist, was honored by her country with a street named after her.
1. Tobi Amusan
The 2025 season marked a strong comeback for Tobi Amusan, the 100m Hurdles World Record (WR) holder. The Nigerian athlete opened with an SB of 12.74s before winning the Rabat Diamond League in 12.45s.
She produced her fastest time since her 12.12s WR with a sensational 12.24s in Paris. Days later, she won the Ostrava Golden Spike in 12.45s, followed by a strong 12.38s for 2nd at the Eugene Diamond League. Amusan secured her fifth straight National title in 12.57s, then ran 12.25s—the 3rd fastest of her career—for 3rd in Chorzow.
At the World Championships in Tokyo, with redemption on the line after past heartbreaks, Amusan delivered. She advanced smoothly from the heats, then topped the semifinals with 12.36s.
In the final, she executed a composed, tactical race to win Silver in 12.29s, tying her 4th fastest career time and becoming only the third Nigerian with two individual World Championships medals whilst extending her reign as Africa’s fastest woman in the 100m hurdles for 10 consecutive seasons.
