Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi has advanced to the semifinals of the men’s 100m event, winning heat 5 with a time of 10.02s (-0.3).
This impressive performance broke Davidson Ezinwa’s record for the fastest opening round time by a Nigerian at the Games (10.03s).
Ajayi, 19, outran Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, who finished second in 10.05s, and Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, who took third place in 10.06s.
With his lifetime best of 10.00 seconds, Ajayi is edging closer to the coveted sub-10s mark.
Another Nigerian, Favour Ashe, also a student at Auburn University in the USA like Ajayi, finished fourth in his heat with a time of 10.16s and after awaiting confirmation as a non-automatic qualifier, he also pulled through into Sunday’s semi-final.
In other heats, Jamaica’s Oblique Seville won heat 4 with a time of 9.99s, while Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe showed class as the first athlete to go under 10s in this year’s competition in Paris, winning heat 3 in 9.98s.
Noah Lyles, despite an unscripted performance, progressed to the semifinals, finishing second in his heat behind Hinchliffe.
The Nigerian duo of Ajayi and Ashe will be joined in the semifinals by other top athletes, including South Africa’s Akani Simbine and USA’s Kenny Bednarek, who won their respective heats.
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke stormed into the 100m final after finishing second in semi-final 2 as he ran 10.00.
It was the first time in 25 years that a male Nigerian athlete would reach the 100m final at the Olympic Games.
In the semi-final races on Sunday, Nigerian athletes Ajayi and Ashe will face formidable opponents in their respective heats.
Ajayi, drawn in heat 2, will contend with a talented field, including Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Akani Simbine of South Africa, and Kenneth Bednarek of the USA.
Ashe’s task is equally daunting, as he takes on a star-studded lineup in his heat, featuring Noah Lyles of the USA, Oblique Seville of Jamaica, Louie Hinchliffe of Great Britain, Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, and Benjamin Azamati of Ghana.
Hopefully, Ajayi and Ashe will be able to match the feat achieved by Adegoke on Sunday to first make it to the final and then make an impact in the final with a podium finish.
Both Nigerians will need to deliver exceptional performances to secure a spot in the final.
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