Nigerian sprinter Konyinsola Ajayi marked his 21st birthday with a historic performance at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, finishing sixth in a fiercely contested men’s 100m final on Sunday.
Ajayi clocked 10.00s in the race, which was won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who stormed to a personal best of 9.77s. Fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson took silver in 9.82s, while American star and former world champion Noah Lyles settled for bronze with a season’s best of 9.89s.
The final was not without drama, as Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo was disqualified for a false start, raising the stakes for the remaining competitors.
Running in his debut World Championships final, Ajayi held his ground against some of the world’s fastest men, lining up alongside Lyles and African record holder Akani Simbine. Despite a strong start, the Nigerian could not secure a podium spot, but he finished ahead of Simbine, with USA’s Kenneth Bednarek and South Africa’s Gift Leotlela placing fourth and fifth respectively.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Ajayi underlined his rising profile with his sixth career sub-10s performance, clocking 9.93s to finish second behind Lyles (9.92s), while Simbine came third (9.96s).
His run in Tokyo marks a significant milestone for Nigerian athletics, as he became the first Nigerian sprinter in 18 years to qualify for the men’s 100m final at the World Championships. The last to achieve the feat was Olusoji Fasuba in 2007, when he finished fourth in Osaka.
Ajayi’s compatriot Israel Okon fell short of the final, finishing seventh in his semi-final with a time of 10.14s, despite impressive heat performances.
Ajayi had already made headlines on Saturday by setting a new personal best of 9.88s in the heats, becoming Nigeria’s third-fastest man in history. In the same round, Okon ran 10.04s to qualify from his heat, finishing ahead of Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.06s) and Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs (10.20s).
With his breakthrough showing in Tokyo, Ajayi has firmly announced himself on the world stage as Nigeria’s next sprinting star.
