LIVE UPDATES
Nigerian sprinters based in the United States, Favour Ofili, Kanyinsola Ajayi, and Tima Godbless, qualified for the 2025 World Championships scheduled for August in Tokyo, Japan over the weekend.
Ofili had a strong start to her 2025 campaign, finishing in 22.34 seconds, just behind reigning Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred, who completed the race in 21.88 seconds, at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.
Ajayi achieved his goal of becoming the next Nigerian sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m by clocking a lifetime best of 9.96 seconds to win the premier event at the same location.
Ofili wrapped up last season with a personal best of 22.05 seconds, improving from her indoor record of 22.11 seconds in 2023, and making history in the previous year as the first Nigerian to finish the 200m under 22 seconds, with a time of 21.96 seconds.
Although she couldn't compete in the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, she reached the semifinals in the 200m and is now aiming for another global stage appearance in the 200m at the 20th World Athletics Championships this September in Tokyo.
At the same event, Tima Godbless, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, achieved a personal-best time of 22.55 seconds (-0.3 m/s) to win the 200m invite, making her the second Nigerian woman, alongside Ofili, to secure automatic qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo, with the qualification standard set at 22.57 seconds.
Ajayi hinted at his remarkable performance over the weekend when he equaled the Nigerian 60m record, clocking 6.48 seconds in Lievin, France last month, a record that had stood since 1999 by Deji Aliu.
While it took Aliu four years to break into the 10 second mark after his 6.48 run, Ajayi, a semifinalist in the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, accomplished this feat about a month later.
At just 20 years old, he has become the 11th Nigerian man to clock under 10 seconds in the 100m and the first to qualify for the blue ribband event at the upcoming 20th World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, also ranking as the fourth fastest in the NCAA for this outdoor season.
Ajayi wasn’t the only one to achieve a personal best on Saturday; fellow Auburn Tiger Israel Okon, who recently set a new African U-20 record at 6.51 seconds in the 60m, recorded a personal best of 10.07 seconds to finish sixth overall in the 100m.
Adekalu Fakorede, the leader among Nigerians in the event prior to this weekend with a time of 10.11 seconds, finished in 19th place with a time of 10.39 seconds.
Additionally, former World U-20 200m champion Udodi Onwuzurike finished second to reigning African champion Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia, with a time of 20.50 seconds compared to Fahnbulleh’s 22.07 seconds.
Godbless faced a challenging headwind (-2.4 m/s) but managed an impressive 11.14 seconds in the 100m, just a day after achieving her personal best in the 200m at 22.55 seconds.
