Ajayi, Okon Get Tough 100m Heat on World Championships Debut
Nigerian duo Kanyinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon will have to be at their very best if they are to advance to the semifinal as one of the three automatic qualifiers in their respective heats.
Ajayi, with a 9.92 season’s best and a semifinalist at the Olympics last year, is making his World Championships (WCH) debut and will need to finish in the top three of Heat 1, where he has been drawn alongside Gift Leotlela of South Africa (9.98 SB), Romell Glave of Great Britain (10.00 SB), and Oblique Seville of Jamaica (9.83 SB).
While Ajayi is tipped to be among the three automatic qualifiers, his Auburn University, USA schoolmate, Okon, will have to pass through the eye of the needle to secure a semifinal berth on his debut.
The 18-year-old, with a 10.03 season’s best, is up against four athletes who have dipped under 10 seconds this season, as well as 2020 Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy.
The Nigerian will battle for the three automatic slots in Heat 6 with Davonte Howell of the Cayman Islands (9.98SB), T’Mars McCallum of the USA (9.83SB), Retshidisitswe Mlenga of South Africa (9.99SB), and Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain (9.91SB).
The first three of each heat, plus the three fastest times, will qualify for the semifinal.
