Can Ajayi become first Nigerian in 32 years to break 10 seconds in 100m at the World Championships?
When the 20th World Athletics Championships get underway in Tokyo, Japan on September 13, all eyes will be on the fastest Nigerian 100m runner since 2023, Kanyinsola Ajayi, as he seeks to not only become the second man since 2007 to race into the final of the blue riband event, but also the first to make it to the podium and the second Nigerian to break 10 seconds in the event.
Since 1983, when the first 100m race was run at the Championships, only Daniel Effiong has broken 10 seconds in the event, and he did so at the semifinal stage in Stuttgart, Germany in 1993, running 9.98 to place second and become the first Nigerian to reach the final.
Effiong failed to replicate his fantastic semifinal run in the final, as his 10.04 performance could only fetch him seventh place.
That time, however, remains the fastest by a Nigerian man in the final of the 100m.
Favour Ashe remains the second fastest Nigerian in the history of the Championships, having sped to a 10.00 second finish in the first round to qualify for the semifinals at the 2022 Championships in Oregon, USA, though he could not advance to the final.
Deji Aliu ranks the third fastest with the 10.04 he ran at the quarterfinal stage of the Championships in Paris, France.
He made it all the way to the final and finished fifth following the disqualification of Dwain Chambers of Great Britain and Tim Montgomery of the US for doping offences.
Two years earlier, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Uchenna Emedolu stopped the clock at 10.06 in the quarterfinals but could not advance to the final.
Olusoji Fasuba and Seye Ogunlewe, yes, the Lagos boy overlooked by the AFN in 2024 for the Paris Olympics, ran 10.07 in 2007 and 2023 respectively.
While Fasuba ran his 10.07 to finish fourth in the final at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, Ogunlewe ran his in the opening round of the Championships in Budapest two years ago.
Fasuba’s fourth place finish is the highest a Nigerian has finished in the history of the event at the Championships.
Now, Ajayi, who dipped under 10 seconds four times this season and holds a 9.92 personal and season’s best, carries high expectations.
He could become the second Nigerian to break 10 seconds at the World Championships, the second to reach the final since 2007, and the first to make it to the podium.
