Nigeria’s sprint sensation, Kayinsola Ajayi, announced his arrival on the biggest stage of international athletics with a sensational victory in the men’s 100 metres at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.
Making his Diamond League debut, the 21-year-old stormed to victory in an equal Nigerian record of 9.84 seconds, defeating a world-class field that included Oblique Seville of Jamaica and American sprint star Christian Coleman.
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Seville finished second in 9.89 seconds, while former world champion Coleman settled for third in 9.95 seconds. Ajayi’s stunning performance confirmed the rich vein of form that has made him one of the world’s fastest sprinters this season and reinforced Nigeria’s growing status as a force in global sprinting.
Dream debut
Ajayi arrived in Eugene on the back of a breakthrough NCAA season in the United States. Earlier in June, the Auburn University sprinter became Nigeria’s fastest man in history after running a legal 9.84 seconds to erase Olusoji Fasuba’s long-standing national record of 9.85 seconds, set in 2006.
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He followed that up by winning the NCAA men’s 100m title in 9.72 seconds, although an illegal tailwind aided the performance. Against a field packed with Olympic and World Championship medallists, Ajayi showed no signs of intimidation, producing another flawless race to equal his national record under legal wind conditions (+0.1m/s). The victory immediately establishes him as a genuine contender on the Diamond League circuit ahead of the major championships later this year.
Amusan maintains consistency
World record holder Tobi Amusan also produced another impressive performance, finishing second in the women’s 100m hurdles. The Nigerian clocked 12.34 seconds to finish behind American Masai Russell, who won in 12.24 seconds. Bahamian Devynne Charlton completed the podium in 12.41 seconds.
Although she missed out on victory, Amusan once again demonstrated the consistency that has defined her 2026 campaign. The former world champion has already won Diamond League titles in Rabat and Paris this season while repeatedly running world-class times of 12.28 seconds.
Mixed fortunes for Nigerians
Elsewhere, Favour Ofili lined up against one of the strongest women’s 100m fields of the season. The Nigerian finished eighth in 11.07 seconds as American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won in 10.78 seconds ahead of compatriot Sha’Carri Richardson, who crossed in 10.79 seconds.
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In the men’s 400m, Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel placed eighth in 45.32 seconds. The race was won by Botswana’s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi, who produced an outstanding personal best of 44.00 seconds to beat American Olympic champion Rai Benjamin (44.11 seconds).
African stars impress
Botswana enjoyed another successful outing as reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo finished second in the men’s 200m with a season’s best of 19.93 seconds behind American Tate Taylor, who won in 19.75 seconds. Kenya also celebrated victory through Lilian Odira, who claimed the women’s 800m title in 1:56.19 ahead of Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and American Addison Wiley. Ghanaian duo Abdul-Rasheed Saminu and Joseph Paul Amoah competed in the men’s 100m, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively, against one of the strongest sprint fields assembled this season.
New face of Nigerian sprinting
For Nigeria, however, the spotlight firmly belonged to Ajayi. His victory over some of the biggest names in world sprinting not only validated his record-breaking NCAA campaign but also signalled the emergence of another genuine global medal contender. With the Commonwealth Games just around the corner, Ajayi has shown he is in good shape for gold in Glasgow.
