The stage is set once again for Nigeria’s premier Athletics showdown, as the nation’s top sprinters, jumpers, throwers, and distance stars converge for the 2025 Nigerian Athletics Championships at the Yabatech Sports Complex in Lagos.
This year’s edition carries heightened significance: national titles are on the line, and, for many, qualification for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo looms in the background.
With the hurdles temporarily behind her, Tobi Amusan shifts focus to the flat sprint, entering the women’s 100m as a major contender. The World Record (WR) holder clocked a Season’s Best (SB) of 11.18s in Kingston just over a month ago and brings elite pedigree to the event. However, she won’t have it easy as Olayinka Olajide, the fastest entrant on paper with a Personal Best (PB) of 11.15s from May, will be gunning for the upset.
Also in the mix are Precious Nzeakor and Success Umukoro, both capable of pushing the front-runners. National Sports Festival Champion Kate Odumoso, with a PB of 11.36s, returns alongside Iyanuoluwa Bada and Obi Chukwuka Jennifer, who each stood on the podium in Abeokuta. With this depth, the women’s 100m promises to be one of the most explosive events of the championships.
The men’s 100m could prove to be even deeper this year, with defending champion Kanyinsola Ajayi leading the charge. Fresh off a stellar season in which he clocked 9.92s twice, Ajayi makes a compelling case to retain his crown.
He is the fastest Nigerian man in 2025 and has been remarkably consistent, breaking 10 seconds four times, the most ever by a Nigerian man in a single season, tying Favour Ashe who also broke the barrier four times in 2024.
Ajayi will be chased by his University of Auburn teammate, Israel Okon, the sensational freshman who made both the NCAA 60m and 100m finals and boasts a PB of 10.06s. Also lurking is the experienced Usheoritse Itsekiri (SB 10.07s), as well as Fakorede Nicholas, who posted a 10.11s PB after a tasking NCAA campaign.
The event is a stacked one, with other athletes such as Alaba Akintola (10.11), Olaolu Olatunde (10.13), Seye Ogunlewe (10.17), Chidera Ezeakor (10.22), Enoch Adegoke (10.25) and Emmanuel James Taiwo (10.31).
Akintola enters the men’s 200m as the top Nigerian this season, having clocked a PB of 20.23s—just 0.07s shy of the World Championships qualifying mark. The race won’t be his alone, though. Olatunde, who impressed with a 20.39s run on the NCAA Division II circuit, will be a major threat, while Itsekiri could also factor in if he lines up for the half-lap.
Other contenders include Udodi Onwuzurike (20.50s), the 2021 World U20 Champion, and Taiwo (20.83s), both capable of challenging for a podium finish in what promises to be a fiercely contested final.
The women’s 200m is wide open this year, with multiple contenders eyeing the crown. Umukoro leads the field with her impressive 22.93s SB, but she’ll be challenged by Nzeakor and Olajide—both in strong form. Olajide, who comes in with a 23.25s clocking, will be particularly motivated after missing out on the national title to Nzeakor in 2024, setting the stage for a heated rematch.
On the home front, the spotlight also falls on rising stars eager to make a statement. African U20 Champion Success Oyibu and NSF winner Chioma Nweke will be looking to hold their own against the established names.
The women’s 400m is shaping up to be a thrilling clash between experience and youth. Leading the charge for the veterans is Patience Okon-George, a multiple-time national champion who remains unbeaten on the local circuit in 2025. Her SB of 51.64s, clocked en route winning the NSF, underscores her continued dominance.
Standing in her way is a new wave of talent, headlined by Chioma Nwachukwu—the newly crowned African U18 Champion. With a PB of 51.26s, she enters the Championships as the fastest woman in the field. Not far behind is African U20 Champion Favour Onyah (PB 51.93s), whose qualification for the NCAA Championships also signals her growing pedigree.
Opeyemi Deborah Oke, with a PB of 52.22s, adds more depth to the field, while rising stars Anita Enaruna and Toheebat Jimoh—both medallists at the African U20 Championships—are poised to capitalize on their breakout seasons.
Samuel Ogazi is the man to beat in the men’s 400m. The sophomore at the University of Alabama started the year with an injury in his first-ever 300m indoor race for Alabama, but gradually found his way back, skipping the indoor season entirely and then winning the SEC title outdoors. He signalled a full return to form when he ran 44.43s to easily qualify for the NCAA Championships at the East Prelims in Florida, not far off his PB of 44.41s set when he made the Olympic final.
He went on to win the NCAA crown in Eugene convincingly, and is just one of three Nigerian men in 2025 break 45 seconds in the event.
Joining him in that elite club are Ezekiel Nathaniel and national team veteran, Chidi Okezie. Known primarily for his 400m hurdles dominance, Nathaniel stunned the world with a 44.74s indoor run earlier this season, shattering the African Record and becoming the 8th fastest man ever indoors. Okezie, always reliable, has clocked 44.98s in 2025 and remains a potent contender.
The field is stacked with experience and hungry youth. Samson Nathaniel, enjoying a career resurgence with a 45.55s—his fastest in eight years—will line up alongside rising stars like Gafar Badmus (45.65) and Ezekiel Asuquo (45.83), both eager to test themselves against the best.
The Nigerian all-comers record of 44.69s, set by the legendary Sunday Bada in 1995 in Lagos, could well be in jeopardy.
In the men’s Long Jump, all eyes will be on Charles Godfred. The reigning national champion has been in imperious form in 2025, evidenced by an extraordinary 11-meet unbeaten streak in the NCAA circuit. With momentum on his side, Godfred will be aiming to defend his 2024 crown and further solidify his place at the top.
The women’s Long Jump will be headlined by rising star Prestina Ochonogor, fresh off a commanding performance at the African U20 Championships in Abeokuta where she jumped 6.71m to break Ese Brume’s long-standing Championship Record—nearly by half a metre. She has gone from idolizing Brume to standing shoulder to shoulder with her on the runway.
Temitope Adeshina will be gunning for her fourth national title in the women’s High Jump, having equalled her own National Record of 1.97m to qualify for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
On the infield, Sade Olatoye will be looking to dominate the women’s Hammer Throw and win her third national title in the event, as will Chioma Onyekwere (64.12m) in the women’s Discus who will face African Games Champion Obiageri Amaechi who comes in with an SB of 63.01m.
