New Nigerian record holder in the men’s 100m, Kayinsola Ajayi, will be gunning for his first NCAA title on Friday when he competes in the final of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Ajayi overcame a slow start to win his semi-final in 9.94 seconds (-1.1m/s), holding off LSU’s Jaiden Reid, who equalled the Cayman Islands national record with a time of 9.95s.
It was Ajayi’s ninth legal sub-10-second performance, and the fastest time overall in the semi-finals as he booked his place in the 100m final.
The 21-year-old will be joined in the final by compatriot and Auburn teammate Israel Okon.
As he lines up for the title decider on Friday, Ajayi will be hoping to make amends for last year’s disappointment, when he finished fourth despite running a then personal best of 9.92s in the semi-finals.
Since then, the sprinter has gone on to rewrite the Nigerian record books, breaking the long-standing national mark set by Olusoji Fasuba in 2006.
Ajayi clocked 9.84s at the NCAA East Regional Championships two weeks ago to erase Fasuba’s 20-year-old record of 9.85s and secure qualification for the NCAA Championships.
Fasuba’s mark, which was also the African record at the time, was set at the Doha Grand Prix in May 2006.
The continental record is now held by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran 9.77s in Nairobi on September 18, 2021. However, Fasuba believes Ajayi has the talent to reclaim the African record for Nigeria.
“What excites me most is not just the record itself, but what it represents,” Fasuba said.
“It shows that Nigerian sprinting is progressing and that our athletes can compete with the very best in the world. The possibility of Nigeria taking back the African record is now realistic once again, and Kayinsola has shown that he has the talent to chase that target.”
Read the full article here
