Kanyinsola Ajayi has secured a place in the men’s 100m final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, marking a historic milestone for Nigeria.
Ajayi becomes the first Nigerian sprinter to reach the 100m final in 18 years, following in the footsteps of Olusoji Fasuba, who last achieved the feat in 2007.
The 21-year-old sprinter clocked 9.93 seconds to finish second in Heat 1 of the semi-final on Sunday, earning one of the two automatic qualification spots. The time was the sixth sub-10-second run of his career and came fittingly on his birthday.
Ajayi crossed the line just 0.01 seconds behind American star Noah Lyles, the reigning Olympic 100m champion, who won the heat. His performance ranked as the fifth-fastest overall in the semi-finals.
The Ikorodu-born athlete will line up in the final on Monday against a competitive field that includes world number one Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, as well as three other Africans, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela.
Nigeria’s other representative in the men’s 100m, Israel Okon, was unable to progress beyond the heats. The reigning national champion finished seventh in Heat 3 with a time of 10.14 seconds.
