Ajayi, Ezekiel Set for Biggest Career Payday at London Diamond League

Nigerian sprinter Kanyinsola Ajayi and 400m hurdles star Nathaniel Ezekiel are in line for the biggest prize money of their careers when they compete at the London Diamond League meeting this weekend.

The pair will feature in the 11th leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League series, with victories in their respective events worth a lucrative $20,000 under the competition’s Diamond+ prize structure.

Ajayi, who will contest the men’s 100m, is making his first appearance in an official Diamond League scoring event.

Although he competed at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, his race was not part of the Diamond League programme, making London his first opportunity to earn both points and prize money in the series.

A victory would not only mark a breakthrough on the elite circuit but also earn the Nigerian his first Diamond League prize money.

Ezekiel, meanwhile, returns to familiar territory in the men’s 400m hurdles after making his Diamond League debut last season. The rising Nigerian quarter-mile hurdler will also compete for the enhanced Diamond+ winner’s prize of $20,000.

The men’s 100m and 400m hurdles are among the eight Diamond+ disciplines selected for the London meeting. Under the revised prize structure introduced for the 2026 season, winners in Diamond+ events receive $20,000, while athletes finishing from second through to eighth or ninth place also earn increased prize money, ranging from $6,000 to $500.

So far this season, Nigeria’s world record holder Tobi Amusan is the country’s only athlete to have benefited from the Diamond+ rewards.

The former world champion earned $20,000 for winning the women’s 100m hurdles in Paris, $6,000 for finishing second in Xiamen and $4,000 for placing third at the season opener in Shaoxing/Keqiao.

The Wanda Diamond League introduced the Diamond+ initiative to increase prize money in selected events at each meeting. Eight disciplines are designated as Diamond+ at every stop on the circuit, giving more athletes the opportunity to compete for enhanced financial rewards.