By: Boluwatife Kehinde
Kanyinsola Ajayi has etched his name into Nigerian athletics history by becoming the nation’s first men’s 100m finalist at the World Championships since Olusoji Fasuba’s appearance in 2007.
The 21-year-old sprinter announced himself on the global stage in Tokyo with a blistering run in the heats, clocking a massive personal best of 9.88 seconds.
His performance, just a fraction behind South Africa’s Gift Leotlela who won in 9.87s, not only underlined his exceptional potential but also set a new mark as the fastest time ever by a Nigerian athlete at the World Championships.
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Ajayi, a standout sprinter from Auburn University, carried that momentum into the semifinals, where he delivered a composed race to secure automatic qualification for the final.
Running in the same heat as world and Olympic champion Noah Lyles, Ajayi clocked 9.93s to finish second, just 0.01s behind Lyles’ 9.92s. South Africa’s Akani Simbine placed third in 9.96s.
By finishing in the top two, Ajayi guaranteed his spot in the highly competitive final — ending an 18-year wait for Nigeria in the event.
Fasuba last reached the 100m final at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, narrowly missing a medal by finishing fourth.
Ajayi now carries the hopes of a new generation, with an opportunity to go one step further by becoming Nigeria’s first-ever men’s 100m medallist in World Championships history.
Though he eventually finished sixth in the final, his performance has been widely celebrated as a breakthrough moment for Nigerian sprinting.
Making of Champions, the athletics development platform, praised his achievement in a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Kanyinsola Ajayi might not have won a medal, but what he has just done today is such a big deal.
“Giving Nigeria a lane in a stacked 100m final and finishing sixth in a global championship deserves to be celebrated. What is even more astonishing is that he is just starting. It’s only a matter of time before he cracks the top three. Keep going, King Ajayi, your nation is solidly behind you.”
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With youth on his side and a fearless racing style, Ajayi’s Tokyo heroics may just be the beginning of Nigeria’s sprinting resurgence.
