Ajayi, Ogazi win NCAA titles

Nigerian athletes Kayinsola Ajayi and Samuel Ogazi claimed the men’s 100m and 400m titles, respectively, at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the early hours of Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, PUNCH Online reports. Representing Auburn University, Ajayi stormed to victory in the men’s 100m in a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds. The performance would have broken the African record of 9.77 seconds currently held by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, but a tailwind of +2.2m/s rendered the mark ineligible for record purposes. It was the 21-year-old’s first NCAA outdoor title after finishing fourth in the event last year. With the victory, he became the first Nigerian to win the NCAA men’s 100m title since Divine Oduduru achieved the feat in 2019. Ajayi produced a dominant display in the final, pulling clear of the field in the closing stages. LSU’s Jaiden Reid finished second in 9.82 seconds, while Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins placed third. The Nigerian had earlier overcome a slow start in Wednesday’s semi-final, winning in 9.94 seconds (-1.1m/s) ahead of Reid, who equalled the Cayman Islands national record with 9.95 seconds. Although the time will not stand as an official record, Ajayi’s 9.72 seconds ranks among the fastest performances ever recorded under all conditions and further underlines his status as one of the world’s leading sprinters this season. Related News England World Cup equipment stolen in US Slovan Bratislava name Yaya Touré as new head coach Eagles drop to 7th on most valuable African teams list In the men’s 400m, Ogazi successfully defended his NCAA title in spectacular fashion, running a national and collegiate record of 43.38 seconds. The Alabama athlete broke the NCAA record of 43.61 seconds set by American Michael Norman in 2018. The performance elevated Ogazi to fourth on the all-time world list, behind only South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk and Americans Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds. The 20-year-old improved on his previous personal best of 44.02 seconds, which he set in May during Alabama’s regular-season finale against Georgia in Athens. That 44.02-second run had already seen him erase Innocent Egbunike’s long-standing Nigerian record of 44.17 seconds, which had stood since August 1987, ending a 38-year wait for a new national benchmark in the event. Meanwhile, Ajayi’s Auburn teammate, Israel Okon, bounced back from disappointment in the 100m, where he pulled up late and finished ninth, to produce a strong performance in the 200m. The Nigerian finished second in 19.99 seconds, recording his best finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Abiodun Adewale Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years