Olaoye Equals Personal Best in Düsseldorf as Ogunleye Dominates Shot Put at ISTAF Indoor Meet
Evonne Alisa breaks Ghanaian record in 60m hurdles
Nigeria’s Fola Olaoye equaled his personal best in the men’s 60m at the ISTAF Indoor meet, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver event in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Olaoye clocked 6.60 seconds on Saturday to secure third place in a race won by reigning world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain, who stormed to victory in 6.53 seconds.
Olaoye’s performance moves him to fourth on the African top list for 2026 and second among Nigerian sprinters. Ghana’s Barnabas Aggerh currently leads the continental rankings with the 6.57 seconds he ran a week earlier.
In the women’s shot put, German/Nigerian Yemisi Ogunleye opened her indoor season with a commanding win, throwing 18.78m to claim victory for the second consecutive year.
Ogunleye, the reigning Olympic champion, had thrown 19.78m to win last year’s edition.
The 27-year-old is aiming to return to the podium this season after finishing sixth at the World Championships in Tokyo last September.
Her mark in Düsseldorf places her second on the world list for 2026, behind Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, who threw 19.00m in Stockholm on January 22.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Evonne Alisa Britton made history in the women’s 60m hurdles, setting a new national record with a time of 7.99 seconds.
The performance not only secured victory but also moved her joint fifth on the world list and first in Africa.
Britton becomes only the eighth African athlete to break the eight-second barrier in the event. Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan remains the African record holder with her 7.75-second run.
