Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi delivered a superb performance to claim the bronze medal in the men’s 100 metres after clocking a blistering 9.90 seconds in a breathtaking Commonwealth Games final at Scotstoun Stadium on Tuesday night.
Ajayi, who had qualified impressively from the semi-finals earlier in the day, produced another outstanding run to finish third behind Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who powered to a Games Record of 9.83 seconds to win gold, while Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy claimed silver in an Australian Record of 9.85 seconds.
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South Africa’s Gift Leotlela narrowly missed the podium despite posting a season’s best 9.91 seconds, finishing just one-hundredth of a second behind the Nigerian.
The result marks another major milestone in Ajayi’s rapidly rising career and gives Team Nigeria another athletics medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The 20-year-old has been one of Nigeria’s standout sprinters throughout the 2026 season, consistently running among the world’s fastest times. His bronze-medal performance in Glasgow confirms his emergence as one of Africa’s brightest sprint talents and signals a promising future ahead of the next World Championships and Olympic cycle.
The final lived up to expectations, producing one of the fastest races in Commonwealth Games history. Eseme’s 9.83 shattered the previous Games record, while Kennedy’s 9.85 established a new Australian record. Ajayi’s 9.90 ensured Nigeria was represented on the podium after surviving a highly competitive field that included South Africa’s Gift Leotlela, Wales’ Jeremiah Azu, Australia’s Edward Nketia, Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati and South Africa’s Cheswill Johnson.
Ajayi’s medal also capped an impressive outing for Nigeria’s men’s sprint team. Although Favour Ashe and Adekalu Nicholas Fakorede narrowly missed the final after their semi-final races, Ajayi carried the nation’s hopes into the championship race and delivered when it mattered most.
His podium finish adds to Team Nigeria’s growing medal haul in Glasgow and continues the country’s impressive campaign across athletics and weightlifting.
For Nigeria, the message from Scotstoun Stadium was clear: the country’s sprint tradition remains alive, and Kayinsola Ajayi has announced himself on one of the biggest stages in Commonwealth sport
