Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi stormed to his second consecutive Diamond League 100 metres victory on Saturday, clocking 9.84 seconds to defeat reigning world champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica at the London Stadium.
The 21-year-old sprinter beat Seville for the second time in two weeks, extending his remarkable run of form in the blue-riband event.
Ajayi’s winning time equalled the Nigerian national record, a mark he had previously matched twice in the past two months.
The race was a close battle between Ajayi and Seville through the opening 50 metres before the Nigerian 100m record holder surged clear in the final stretch, crossing the line ahead of the Jamaican and celebrating the victory with a confident stare.
Seville finished second in 9.87 seconds, while Great Britain’s Romell Glave completed the podium with a personal best of 9.97 seconds, narrowly beating Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who also clocked 9.97 seconds.
The quality of the field was further highlighted by the performances of South Africa’s Gift Leotlela and American sprinter Jordan Anthony, who both broke the 10-second barrier to finish fifth and sixth in 9.99 seconds. British athletes Zharnel Hughes and Jeremiah Azu placed seventh and eighth in 10.02 seconds and 10.07 seconds respectively.
Ajayi’s latest triumph continues his impressive build-up to the 2026 Commonwealth Games, where he is expected to be one of Team Nigeria’s leading medal prospects.
Nigeria failed to win an individual men’s sprint medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, increasing hopes that Ajayi could end the country’s wait in the event.
The Nigerian sprinter is also a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in both the men’s 60m indoor and 100m outdoor events.
He won the NCAA 100m title with a wind-assisted time of 9.72 seconds, placing him joint sixth on the all-time list of fastest men’s 100m performances under all conditions alongside Jamaican sprint legend Asafa Powell. Only Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Obadele Thompson and Andre De Grasse have recorded faster times.
