Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi will be aiming to put the finishing touch to his breakthrough season when he lines up in the men’s 100m at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Saturday, with a potentially life-changing $150,000 prize awaiting the winner.
The championship has attracted a record $10 million prize pot, the richest in athletics history, adding even more incentive for Ajayi and the world’s leading sprinters as the season reaches its climax.
The winner of each individual event will pocket $150,000, while the runner-up will take home $75,000 and the third-place finisher $40,000. In the relay events, the winning team will share an $80,000 prize.
Ajayi will line up in the second semi-final on Saturday alongside a formidable field featuring Ackeem Blake, 2020 Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, USA’s Kenneth Bednarek, African champion Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, Colombia’s Ronal Longa and Ronnie Baker.
Only the first four athletes in each semi-final will advance to the final, which is scheduled to take place just over an hour after the semi-finals.
