Godbless, Ogazi, and Ajayi Set for SEC Championship Spotlight
All eyes will be on Tima Godbless, Samuel Ogazi, and Kanyinsola Ajayi on Friday night as the Nigerian trio take to the track at Auburn University for Day 2 of the 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships.
With records and history within reach, anticipation is high for standout performances.
Godbless, competing in the women’s 100m, has been drawn in lane seven of the sixth heat.
The 21-year-old sprinter, who clocked a lifetime best of 10.91 seconds nearly a year ago, enters the championships with a season’s best of 11.13.
She will be aiming to break the 11-second barrier again and secure automatic qualification for the final, or at least run fast enough to be among the three fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
Her toughest challenge is expected to come from University of Georgia’s Kaila Jackson, who has already run 11.03 this year.
In the men’s 100m, Ajayi is heavily favoured in heat five.
The reigning NCAA indoor champion in the 60m, having twice run 6.45, has already produced a wind-aided 9.90 outdoors this season.
His personal best of 9.88, set at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last September, has fueled predictions that the Ikorodu-born sprinter could break Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old Nigerian 100m record.
At just 21, Ajayi is regarded as one of Nigeria’s most precocious sprint talents.
Meanwhile, Samuel Ogazi is chasing history in the men’s 400m.
The University of Alabama star nearly shattered the 44-second barrier two weeks ago when he stormed to a 44.02 finish, breaking Innocent Egbunike’s long-standing Nigerian record of 44.17 set in August 1987.
Drawn in the second of eight opening-round heats, Ogazi, who turned 20 on May 14, is expected to secure the automatic slot for the final, where he will attempt to become the first Nigerian quarter-miler to dip under 44 seconds.
