U.S.-born sprinter Kelly Ufodiama has officially completed her transfer of allegiance from the United States to Nigeria, following her qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in the women’s 200 metres.
Ufodiama’s switch, which had been in progress for several months, has now been confirmed after her World Athletics profile was updated to reflect her eligibility to represent Nigeria.
The 19-year-old standout recently clocked 22.61 seconds to finish fourth in the women’s 200m final at the NCAA Championships in Oregon. Although she narrowly missed out on a spot in the 200m final by just 0.02 seconds, her performance still earned her Second Team All-America honours after placing 11th in the semifinals.
In the 100m event, Ufodiama recorded a time of 11.41 seconds, placing 22nd in the semifinals.
A freshman at East Carolina University, Ufodiama has had a breakout 2025 season, posting personal bests of 11.15 seconds in the 100m and 22.54 seconds in the 200m. The 22.54s mark, achieved at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Florida on May 31, met the qualifying standard for the World Championships, which will be held later this year in Tokyo, Japan.
With that performance, she joins Favour Ofili and Tima Godbless as the third Nigerian woman to qualify for the 200m event at the global competition. Her 22.54s time also ranks her as the second-fastest U-20 woman in the world this year.
Born and raised in the United States, Ufodiama excelled as a dual-sport athlete in high school, competing in both basketball and athletics before committing full-time to track and field.
Her talent has been widely recognized. Earlier this season, she swept several honours in the American Athletic Conference, including Women’s Outdoor Track Most Outstanding Performance, Most Valuable Performer, and Freshman of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Now officially representing Nigeria, Ufodiama is expected to bolster the nation’s sprinting team ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo.
