Ajayi Breaks Fasuba’s 100m Record With 9.84 Run, Ogazi Storms Back to World Lead in 400m With 43.82
Kanyinsola Ajayi sped to an incredible 9.84 finish on Friday at the NCAA East First Rounds in Kentucky, USA, setting a new lifetime best and a new Nigerian record.
The 21‑year‑old has now broken Olusoji Fasuba’s 20‑year‑old mark of 9.85 by 0.01 seconds.
Ajayi also surged to the top of the world’s 2026 top list in the event, supplanting fellow African and reigning World 400m champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi, who ran 9.89 in Gaborone, Botswana, earlier this April.
Another Nigerian student athlete, and Ajayi’s colleague at Auburn University, Israel Okon, also made history as the 15th Nigerian man to dip under 10 seconds in the 100m.
The 19‑year‑old clocked 9.99 to place fourth and secure his spot at next month’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.
Meanwhile, Samuel Ogazi continued his remarkable form in the 400m, running a new 43.82 lifetime best and Nigerian record to regain the world lead.
Ogazi, the reigning NCAA Division I indoor champion and defending outdoor champion, looks on course to make further history next month as the first Nigerian student athlete to successfully defend a men’s 400m crown at the outdoor championships.
He reclaimed the world lead from Kebinatshipi, who had briefly overtaken him last weekend. Ogazi had earlier set a world lead of 43.95 in Alabama this season, only for the Botswana athlete to run 43.92 at the Xiamen Diamond League meet.
On Thursday, Onyah Onyinye Favour produced a stunning 50.56 lifetime best to win the women’s 400m and punch her ticket to the outdoor final.
Her new mark was a massive 0.69 seconds faster than her previous best of 51.25. The 19‑year‑old has now supplanted Ella Onojuvwevwo as Nigeria’s fastest 400m woman this season and moved up to fourth on the nation’s all‑time list.
Also at the event, Esther Joseph set a new 51.05 lifetime best to qualify for the outdoor final, underlining what is fast becoming a record‑breaking season for Nigerian athletes.
