Former Nigerian sprint king and national record holder in the men’s 100m, Olusoji Fasuba, has tipped rising star Konyinsola Ajayi to smash the African 100m record following his impressive performance at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Ajayi, 21, produced a strong showing on his World Championships debut, clocking 10.00s to finish sixth in Sunday’s fiercely contested final. Jamaica’s Oblique Seville stormed to gold with a lifetime best of 9.77s, edging compatriot Kishane Thompson (9.82s) and former world champion Noah Lyles (9.89s).
Before the final, Ajayi had lit up the track with back-to-back sub-10s. He ran a blistering personal best of 9.88s in the heats, becoming Nigeria’s third-fastest man ever behind Fasuba (9.85s) and Divine Oduduru (9.86s). He followed up with 9.93s in the semi-finals — the sixth sub-10s run of his young career.
Fasuba, the last Nigerian to appear in a World Championships 100m final back in Osaka 2007, lauded Ajayi’s breakthrough and predicted even greater achievements ahead.
“It was an achievement he should be proud of. The World Championships present a different level of competition,” Fasuba told The PUNCH.
“He has consistently shown great potential as a young athlete. I recall predicting some years ago that he might be among those who could challenge the African 100m record in the future.”
Fasuba set the continental record at 9.85s in 2006 before South Africa’s Akani Simbine lowered it to 9.84s in 2021. Later that same year, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala set the current African record of 9.77s.
Ajayi’s university also hailed his milestone run, writing in a celebratory post:
“Let that sink in, sixth in the world. Major congratulations to Konyinsola Ajayi as he finished sixth in the men’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (10.00). From dropping a personal best in round one (9.88) and running 9.93 in semis, history has been made.”
With his stunning debut on the global stage, Ajayi has now established himself as one of Nigeria’s brightest prospects in sprinting and a genuine contender for the African record in the near future.
