Nigerian sprint sensation, Kanyinsola Ajayi, has etched his name into the country’s athletics history after breaking the men’s 100m national record at the 2026 NCAA Division I East First Round track and field meet in the United States.

The 21-year-old Auburn University athlete clocked an astonishing 9.84 seconds in one of the quarter-final heats in the early hours of Saturday, setting a new Nigerian record in the event.

Ajayi’s performance eclipsed the previous mark of 9.85 seconds set by former sprint star Olusoji Fasuba in May 2006, ending a national record that had stood for two decades.

The feat marks another milestone in the athlete’s rapid rise on the global sprinting stage. Ajayi had signalled his potential to rewrite the record books in recent years, notably at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he ran 9.88 seconds in the heats to become the first Nigerian in 18 years to qualify for the men’s 100m final. He went on to finish sixth in the final.

His latest performance also makes him the fastest man in the world so far in 2026, surpassing the previous world-leading mark set earlier this week by Botswana’s 400m world champion, Collen Kebinatshipi, who had attracted global attention with a remarkable run over the shorter distance.

Ajayi’s 9.84-second finish further places him within touching distance of the NCAA men’s 100m record of 9.82 seconds set by American sprinter Christian Coleman in 2017 while competing for the University of Tennessee.

The Nigerian now ranks as the second-fastest collegiate athlete in United States history.

It was also a memorable outing for Nigeria in the men’s 400m event, as Samuel Ogazi continued his impressive form with another record-breaking performance.

Ogazi stormed to a new Nigerian record of 43.82 seconds in the men’s 400m race, lowering his previous national mark and improving on the world-leading time he had posted earlier this month. (Saturday Vanguard)

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