Amusan, Ajayi, Ezekiel to Begin 2027 Diamond League Title Quest in Doha
Tobi Amusan, Kanyinsola Ajayi and Nathaniel Ezekiel will be among the Nigerian athletes hoping to launch their bids for the 2027 Wanda Diamond League titles when the prestigious athletics series opens in Doha, Qatar, on May 7.
The trio will be targeting different milestones as the 18th season of the global one-day meeting series gets underway, with Amusan seeking a fourth Diamond League crown after finishing second in 2026.
The Nigerian sprint hurdler won the women’s 100m hurdles Diamond League title in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before losing her crown. She qualified for the 2026 final in Brussels but will now be looking to reclaim the title in the new season.
Ajayi, meanwhile, will hope to build on an impressive 2026 campaign in which he won the men’s 100m at the Diamond League meetings in Eugene, United States, and London. His victories underlined his emergence among the leading sprinters on the international circuit and raised expectations for the 2027 season.
Nathaniel Ezekiel, Nigeria’s national record holder in the men’s 400m hurdles, will also be chasing a breakthrough after previous attempts to secure a Diamond League title. The US-based hurdler will be hoping to turn his experience on the circuit into a sustained challenge for honours in 2027.
Interestingly, no Nigerian athlete has won a Diamond League event in Doha, leaving the three athletes and any other compatriots who join the campaign with an opportunity to break new ground if their respective disciplines feature on the meeting programme.
The participation of the Nigerians will, however, depend on the events selected for Doha and confirmation of their entries by the organisers.
The 2027 calendar will take the athletes through 15 cities across four continents, with meetings in Shanghai/Keqiao, Xiamen, Rome and Rabat following the season opener. The series will continue through Europe and the United States before the final in Zurich, Switzerland, on August 25 and 26.
The season will also provide a key opportunity for athletes to assess their form ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China, scheduled for September 2027.
