Nigerian sprinter Konyinsola Ajayi impressed on Sunday as he secured sixth place in a fiercely contested men’s 100m final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Ajayi, who turned 21 the same day, crossed the line in 10.00 seconds. The race was won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who stormed to a lifetime best of 9.77s. His countryman Kishane Thompson followed in 9.82s for silver, while Noah Lyles of the USA clinched bronze in 9.89s, his fastest time of the season.
The showdown wasn’t without drama, as Olympic 200m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo was disqualified after a false start.
Lining up between South Africa’s Akani Simbine, the African record holder, and Lyles, Ajayi had a sharp start and fought hard for a medal spot. However, he eventually settled for sixth as Seville surged past Thompson to claim the crown.
Kenneth Bednarek (USA) and Gift Leotlela (South Africa) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Simbine trailed home behind Ajayi.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Ajayi clocked 9.93s—his sixth career sub-10 race—to take second place behind Lyles, who edged him with 9.92s, while Simbine followed in 9.96s.
This appearance marked Ajayi’s World Championship debut, and he became the first Nigerian in 18 years to reach a men’s 100m final. The last to achieve the feat was Olusoji Fasuba, who placed fourth in Osaka in 2007.
Ajayi’s teammate Israel Okon narrowly missed out on the final after running 10.14s to finish seventh in his semi-final. Tebogo and Seville had earlier advanced from the first semi with 9.94s and 9.86s, respectively.
The Nigerian duo began their campaign on Saturday with strong heats. Ajayi set a new personal best of 9.88s, making him the third-fastest Nigerian sprinter in history. Okon advanced with a 10.04s run in heat six, ahead of Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.06s) and Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs (10.20s).
