Nigeria are preparing to send a strong contingent to the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which will be held from September 11 to 13 at Budapest’s National Athletics Centre in Hungary.
Key takeaways
- The three-day event will feature Olympic and world champions, Diamond League winners and the top performers of the 2026 season.
- A total prize fund of $10 million will be available at the Budapest meeting.
- Nigeria’s initial qualifiers are Tobi Amusan, Kanyinsola Ajayi, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Samuel Ogazi and Ella Onojuvwevwo.
- Ajayi and Nathaniel have also become Nigeria’s first automatic qualifiers for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.
- The Beijing qualification period runs through August 22, 2027.
Nigeria’s Budapest contingent
The inaugural championship is expected to assemble a field featuring Olympic title-holders, world champions, Diamond League champions and the most accomplished athletes of the 2026 campaign, with $10m in prize money at stake.
Amusan has qualified for the women’s 100m hurdles, while Ajayi earned selection for the men’s 100m after producing an outstanding season.
Nathaniel will line up in the men’s 400m hurdles following another impressive campaign, highlighted by a Commonwealth Games gold medal. Ogazi will compete in the men’s 400m.
Onojuvwevwo will take part in the women’s 400m after a breakthrough year that saw her break the 50-second barrier and claim Commonwealth Games bronze.
Nigeria also have competitors available for the relay squads. That group includes Alaba Akintola, Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Chigozie and Jennifer Obi Chukwuka.
The Nigerian athletes are set to meet a collection of global stars, among them Mondo Duplantis, Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred, Faith Kipyegon, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
The entry period remains open until September 2, meaning more Nigerian competitors could still reach the qualifying mark for the Budapest competition.
Ajayi and Nathaniel qualify for Beijing
Ajayi and Nathaniel have meanwhile made history as Nigeria’s first automatic qualifiers for the 2027 World Athletics Championships, which will take place in Beijing, China.
Both athletes achieved the required standards on Sunday, August 23, only a short time after the qualification period began.
Ajayi secured the men’s 100m standard with a 9.94-second performance, improving on the automatic qualifying requirement of 9.95 seconds.
Nathaniel qualified for the men’s 400m hurdles by posting 47.83 seconds, well inside the stipulated mark of 48.00 seconds.
Their results have placed them at the head of Nigeria’s qualification drive for the Beijing championships.
Other Nigerian athletes will have until August 22, 2027, to obtain automatic qualification for the championships, with the window giving them further opportunities to meet the required standards.
