Ajayi makes history with Diamond League bronze

BRUSSELS — Kanyinsola Ajayi has capped a remarkable 2026 season by becoming the first Nigerian to win a men’s 100m medal at the Diamond League final, after claiming bronze in Brussels on Friday.

The 21-year-old sprinter clocked 9.97 seconds to finish third in the blue-riband event, behind Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who won in 9.90 seconds, and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who took silver in 9.93 seconds.

Ajayi’s historic podium finish adds another milestone to a breakthrough season in which he has established himself among the fastest sprinters in the world.

He had earlier shattered Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old Nigerian record in the men’s 100m, running a lifetime best of 9.84 seconds.

The performance also earned him a bronze medal for Nigeria in the 100m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ajayi’s impressive campaign began strongly on the collegiate circuit, where he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in both the men’s 60m indoor and 100m outdoor events.

He won the NCAA 100m title in a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds, a time that placed him joint sixth alongside Jamaican sprint legend Asafa Powell on the all-conditions list of the fastest 100m sprinters in history.

Only Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Obadele Thompson and Andre De Grasse have recorded faster times under all conditions.

Although his 9.72-second NCAA performance was wind-assisted and therefore did not count as a legal record, Ajayi’s subsequent 9.84-second run confirmed his emergence as one of the world’s elite young sprinters.

His bronze in Brussels now gives Nigeria a historic first Diamond League final podium in the men’s 100m and provides a fitting conclusion to a season that has seen Ajayi rewrite the national record books and announce himself on the global stage.

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