Kanyinsola Ajayi has broken the Nigerian national record in men’s 100m at the 2026 NCAA Division I East First Round track and field meet in the US.
The 21-year-old Auburn University athlete produced the remarkable performance during one of the quarter-final heats in the early hours of Saturday, eclipsing the previous national record of 9.85 seconds set by Olusoji Fasuba in May 2006.
Ajayi’s latest feat further cements his status as one of the fastest sprinters in the world and confirms the promise he has shown over the past few years. His time not only established a new Nigerian record but also became the fastest men’s 100m time recorded globally in 2026.
The Nigerian star had signalled his readiness to challenge Fasuba’s long-standing mark after running 9.88 seconds at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The performance made him the first Nigerian in 18 years to qualify for the men’s 100m final, where he eventually finished sixth.
With the new record, Ajayi moved closer to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record of 9.82 seconds set by American sprinter Christian Coleman in 2017 while competing for the University of Tennessee. The achievement also places the Nigerian as the second-fastest collegiate athlete in United States history.
Meanwhile, Samuel Ogazi, a fellow Nigerian also delivered an impressive performance at the meet, setting a new national record in the men’s 400 metres with a time of 43.82 seconds.
Ogazi’s run improved on the world-leading mark he had posted earlier this month, further underlining Nigeria’s growing influence in global athletics.
The record-breaking performances by Ajayi and Ogazi provide a major boost for Nigerian athletics ahead of upcoming international competitions and reinforce the country’s emergence as a force in sprint events on the global stage.