Nathaniel Ezekiel set to make Diamond League debut at Prefontaine Classic in Eugene

NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships 400m hurdles champion, Nathaniel Ezekiel is set to return to the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, the venue of his historic win last week but not as a student-athlete.

The Nigerian, 21, is set to make his Diamond League debut at the venue when the money-spinning, World Athletics’ elite one day meeting series makes its ninth of 15 stops.

Nathaniel, who has dipped inside 48 seconds four times so far this year and holds the fourth fastest time (47.49) in the world so far this year, will be making history as the first Nigerian male hurdler to run in the Diamond League since the event replaced the Golden League series in 2010.

Only the trio of reigning Olympic champion, Rai Benjamin (46.54), Alison Dos Santos, the 2022 World Champion (46.68) and Karsten Warholm, the three-time World champion and 2020 Olympic champion (27.28) have ran faster than the Nigerian this year.

He is also set to become the fourth Nigerian man to compete in the competition after Tosin Oke, Divine Oduduru and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi.

Nathaniel has finished his mission in the American collegiate circuit and the Nigerian is now ready to transfer his impressive runs as a Baylor Bear to the world stage.

The Hayward Field in Eugene looks to have become a fertile arena for Nigerians in recent years.

Blessing Okagbare won her two NCAA titles in 2010 at the same arena while Tobi Amusan won her only NCAA title in Eugene before returning five years later to make history as the first and, so far, only Nigerian to win a World title and set a World outdoor record.

Divine Oduduru also won his first of three NCAA outdoor titles in Eugene.