Nathaniel Ezekiel still in the running for 2025 Bowerman award

African 400m indoor record holder, Nathaniel Ezekiel is till in the running for the 2025 Bowerman award after he was listed in the latest Bowerman watch list released on Thursday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Bowerman award is meant for the most outstanding male and female athlete in NCAA and NAIA track and field in a year.

Nathaniel is among the 10 athletes who made the prestigious list after a careful deliberation by The Bowerman Advisory Committee earlier this week.

The Committee wrote thus about the Nigeria on the Bowerman website: ‘Ezekiel, who hails from Delta State, Nigeria, has yet to debut this outdoor season. During the indoor season, the Baylor standout finished runner-up in the 400 meters by 0.01 seconds at the 2025 NCAA DI Indoor Championships.

‘He turned two laps in 45.44, the same time that he ran in the preliminary round. Just a few weeks before that, Ezekiel PR’d in the 400 with his 44.74 winner at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Ezekiel specializes in the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which he finished third at the 2024 NCAA DI Outdoor Championships.’

No Nigerian, man or woman has ever won the award and Ezekiel will have to win the outdoor 400m hurdles title and set records to stand a chance.

The Bowerman will be awarded in December at the annual USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.