Ajayi makes history with Diamond League bronze

Kanyinsola Ajayi has ended a breakthrough season with a piece of Nigerian athletics history. The 21-year-old sprinter won bronze in the men’s 100 metres at the Diamond League final in Brussels, becoming the first Nigerian to take a medal in the event.

Ajayi clocked 9.97 seconds for third place in the blue-riband race. Jamaica’s Oblique Seville won in 9.90 seconds, while Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme took silver in 9.93.

The Brussels podium adds to a season in which Ajayi established himself among the world’s fastest young sprinters. He earlier broke Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old Nigerian 100-metre record with a personal best of 9.84 seconds. He also won 100-metre bronze for Nigeria at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

His campaign began with NCAA titles in the indoor 60 metres and outdoor 100 metres. Ajayi ran a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds to win the NCAA 100 metres, a time that placed him joint sixth on the all-conditions list of the fastest 100-metre performances. Because of the wind, it did not count as a legal record, but his later 9.84 confirmed his progress among the elite.

The bronze in Brussels gave Nigeria its first Diamond League final podium in the men’s 100 metres and completed a season in which Ajayi rewrote the national record books.