The Athletics Federation of Nigeria has hailed the performances of Nigerian athletes at the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, describing their achievements as a powerful signal of what lies ahead for the country’s athletics programme, Sunday PUNCH reports.
Nigeria’s contingent lit up Hayward Field, with Kanyinsola Ajayi and Samuel Ogazi winning the men’s 100 metres and 400 metres titles respectively in performances that turned heads across the global athletics community.
Ajayi, representing Auburn University, stormed to the 100m title in a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds — a time that would have shattered the African record of 9.77 seconds held by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, had a tailwind of +2.2m/s not rendered it ineligible for record purposes.
The 21-year-old pulled clear of the field in the closing stages, with LSU’s Jaiden Reid finishing second in 9.82 seconds and Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins taking third.
The victory made Ajayi the first Nigerian to win the NCAA men’s 100m title since Divine Oduduru achieved the feat in 2019, and only the third Nigerian overall after Olapade Adenekan and Oduduru.
