THE Nigerian pair of Samuel Ogazi and Kanyinsola Ajayi were in superb form in the early hours of today as they both won titles in the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Finals in the United States of America.
In the men’s 400m, the rapidly improving Ogazi clinched his second straight NCAA title, producing a world-leading 43.48 seconds performance, which is a new personal best.
Ogazi, who in May ran 44.02s to break Nigeria’s 39-year-old 400m record of 44.17s set by Innocent Egbunike, also smashed the collegiate record set by Michael Norman of the US in 2018.
The 20-year-old Ogazi, representing Alabama, is now the fourth fastest quarter-miler in history only behind Wayde van Niekerk, the legendary Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds.
On his part, Ajayi won the men’s 100m NCAA title for the first time.
The 21-year-old Auburn University undergraduate has become only the second Nigerian to win the men’s 100m title at the event after Divine Oduduru in 2018.
Ajayi finished in 9.72 seconds, which would have broken the African record held by Ferdinand Omanyala, but a tailwind of +2.2 m/s meant the time was wind-aided and could not be a legitimate record.
At the race in Eugene, Oregon, Ajayi was well clear of the field, with Jaiden Reid of LSU finishing second in 9.82s, while Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins was third.
With the performance, Ajayi earned a spot as the joint-sixth fastest sprinter of all time in all conditions with Asafa Powell.
Only Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Obadele Thompson and Andre De Grasse have even run faster times — wind-aided or not.
In May, Ajayi set a new Nigerian 100m record of 9.84s, breaking the 9.85s set by Olusoji Fasuba in 2006.
