Fasuba Endorses Ajayi To Reclaim African 100M Record

Olusoji Fasuba, the former African 100m champion, is celebrating the rise of Kanyinsola Ajayi after the 20-year-old sprinter broke Fasuba’s two-decade-old Nigerian record.

Competing at the NCAA East Regional Championships on Friday, Ajayi blazed to a world-leading 9.84 seconds (+0.4 m/s wind), eclipsing Fasuba’s 9.85 from Doha in May 2006.

The Auburn University athlete didn’t just erase a long-standing national mark—he also rocketed to the top of the 2026 world rankings, overtaking Nigerian greats like Divine Oduduru, Seun Ogunkoya, and Davidson Ezinwa.

Rather than express disappointment, Fasuba publicly embraced the moment.

“It’s not every day you witness a record that stood for 20 years finally fall,” he wrote on Facebook. He recalled the pride of holding the Nigerian record for two decades and the African record for 15 years, until Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala ran 9.77 in 2021.

Fasuba revealed he had predicted Ajayi’s breakthrough two years ago. “I said then that this young man could be the one to take my Nigerian record—and today he proved me right,” he said, extending his congratulations.

What matters most, Fasuba added, is the bigger picture. “My joy is immense because this is the progress I’ve longed to see in Nigerian men’s sprinting. Records are meant to be broken—they push the next generation to dream bigger.”

He also sees a realistic chance for Nigeria to reclaim the African record. “Kanyinsola has shown he has the talent to chase that target,” Fasuba noted.

After his historic race, Ajayi admitted the national record had been a long-held dream. “I’ve always wanted this. Shoutout to Olusoji Fasuba,” he told Making of Champions. He remained focused on his own improvement, adding, “I’m not thinking about anyone else—it’s me versus myself.”