Team Nigeria made a strong statement on Day 1 of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, with sprint duo Kanyinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon Sunday booking their spots in the men’s 100m semifinals, while Chukwuebuka Enekwechi delivered a solid performance to place fifth in the men’s Shot Put final.
The 21-year-old Ajayi delivered one of the standout performances of the opening day, clocking an astonishing 9.88 seconds to finish second in his heat. The time is a new personal best for the rising star and makes him the third-fastest Nigerian sprinter in history, behind only Olusoji Fasuba (9.85s) and Divine Oduduru (9.86s).
Ajayi’s blistering run also marked his fifth sub-10 second performance of the season, the most ever by a Nigerian in a single year. He now ties the national record for the most career sub-10s — an impressive feat for a newcomer on the global stage.
He finished behind South Africa’s Gift Leotlela, who ran a personal best of 9.87s, while Jamaica’s Oblique Seville took third in 9.93s.
Meanwhile, Israel Okon Sunday, also making his senior World Championships debut, showed impressive composure to win his heat in 10.04 seconds, edging out Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.06s) and reigning Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs (10.20s). Jacobs notably won Olympic gold at this same venue in 2021.
The highly anticipated men’s 100m semifinals promise fireworks. Ajayi will line up in Semifinal 1 alongside American star Noah Lyles, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, and Jacobs.
Okon is slated to compete in Semifinal 3, facing a stacked lineup including Oblique Seville, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Gift Leotlela, Courtney Lindsey (USA), Nigeria’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Romell Glave (Jamaica), and Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse (Canada).
In field events, Nigeria’s Shot Put national record holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi advanced to the final after a strong qualification throw of 20.83m.
In the final, Enekwechi delivered a consistent series of efforts, with his best mark of 21.52m coming in the sixth and final round — good enough for fifth place overall, narrowly missing what would have been Nigeria’s first World Championship medal in the event.
Team Nigeria returns to action on Day 2, with more athletes set to compete across track and field disciplines as the Championships continue in Tokyo.
