Ajayi makes history with Diamond League bronze

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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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