Nigeria has crowned a new national sprint benchmark after Kanyinsola Ajayi tore through the 100 metres in 9.84 seconds at the NCAA East Regional on Friday, smashing the long-standing national record and establishing a fresh standard for Nigerian sprinting.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old Auburn University athlete delivered the standout run of his life, winning his heat, securing qualification for the NCAA Championships, and knocking out a record that had survived for almost two decades.<\/p>\n
Ajayi\u2019s clocking of 9.84s (at an average speed of 0.4m\/s) moved him past the prior Nigerian national best of 9.85s set by Olusoji Fasuba back in 2006\u2014an effort that many expected would endure for years.<\/p>\n
The performance also propelled Ajayi to the summit of the 2026 world rankings for the event, placing him top globally at this stage of the season.<\/p>\n
On top of rewriting the national record, Ajayi\u2019s time ranks as the second-fastest 100m ever produced in collegiate competition, highlighting just how significant the achievement is within the college ranks.<\/p>\n
After the race, in an interview with Making of Champions, an emotional Ajayi explained that the breakthrough came from confidence in his preparation and belief in God.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy coach told me what to do. I knew I was in good shape, so I just had to come here and execute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ajayi had already signalled that something special was coming earlier, running 9.90 seconds in the preliminary rounds with ease. Even so, the size of what he ultimately achieved appeared to catch him off guard.<\/p>\n
Asked about breaking Fasuba\u2019s long-standing record, Ajayi responded: \u201cI\u2019ve always been dreaming about it. God made it happen, so I\u2019m very grateful to God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria has crowned a new national sprint benchmark after Kanyinsola Ajayi tore through the 100 metres in 9.84 seconds at the NCAA East Regional on Friday, smashing the long-standing national record and establishing a fresh standard for Nigerian sprinting. The 21-year-old Auburn University athlete delivered the standout run of his life, winning his heat, securing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Kanyinsola Ajayi Breaks 100m National Record at NCAA","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Kanyinsola Ajayi clocks 9.84 to smash Nigeria\u2019s 100m national record at the NCAA East Regional, winning his heat and booking a spo","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n