Nigeria’s dash hopes stay alive as Kayinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon superior to the lads’s 100m semi-finals of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The semi-final start-list, unveiled forward of Sunday evening’s motion, units the stage for an explosive showdown that includes Olympic champions, world medalists, and rising dash stars.
Learn Additionally: Tokyo 2025: Okowa Opens up on Equipment Controversy, Backs Workforce Nigeria to Shine at World Championship
Ajayi will race in Semi-Closing 1 at 20:45, dealing with powerful competitors from Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, world 200m champion Noah Lyles, and South African veteran Akani Simbine.
With a season’s better of 9.88 seconds, Ajayi enters the warmth as one of many quickest males within the area, stage on time with Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake.
His consistency this season makes him a robust contender for a spot within the closing.
Isreal Okon strains up in Semi-Closing 3 at 20:59, the place he’ll confront a stacked area led by Jamaica’s Indirect Seville, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, and Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu.
Okon, who clocked 10.03 seconds this season, might want to produce a near-perfect race to safe qualification towards opponents boasting sub-9.90 private bests.
The format stays easy: the primary two finishers in every semi-final (Q), and the following two quickest total (q), will ebook their place within the extremely anticipated closing.
With margins anticipated to be razor-thin, execution out of the blocks and top-end velocity will show decisive.
Nigeria final celebrated a males’s 100m finalist on the World Championships many years in the past.
The presence of Ajayi and Okon rekindles hope for a breakthrough on the worldwide stage.
In opposition to fierce opposition from dash powerhouses USA, Jamaica, and Nice Britain, their progress to the semis already marks a commendable achievement.
With Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium primed for fireworks, Nigerian followers will watch anxiously as Ajayi and Okon try and dash their method into historical past.
The Full Begin Listing
Semi Closing 1 – 14 September 2025 | 20:45
Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy) – Season’s Greatest: 10.20 | Private Greatest: 9.80
Eliezer Adjibi (Canada) – SB: 10.02 | PB: 10.02
Ackeem Blake (Jamaica) – SB: 9.88 | PB: 9.88
Noah Lyles (USA) – SB: 9.90 | PB: 9.79
