The men’s 100m final was one of the most anticipated events of the 2025 Nigerian Athletics Championships at the Yabatech Sports Complex in Lagos, and it lived up to the hype.
Heading into the championships, University of Auburn teammates Kanyinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon were billed as the ones to beat. They backed up the predictions early on, dominating the heats with effortlessly. Okon emerged as the fastest man across the eleven heats, clocking a new Personal Best of 10.03s. Ajayi, the national leader with a 9.92s to his name, cruised through his heat in 10.05s, looking comfortable and in control.
However, drama struck ahead of the semifinal round: Ajayi was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a slight injury. His absence reshaped the dynamics of the final and opened the door for a new champion to emerge.
With Ajayi out, the pressure shifted squarely onto Israel Okon and he delivered with poise. Storming from behind, Okon showed maturity and control to claim his first national 100m title in 10.04s (+2.3), outleaning a tenacious Alaba Akintola in a race that went down to the wire.
Akintola, a perennial contender in this event, once again found himself agonizingly close to the crown. After placing second in 2022, third in 2023, and second again in 2024, he threw everything at this year’s final, diving across the line and taking a hard tumble in the process. His time of 10.05s left him just one-hundredth shy of victory.
Nicholas Fakorede continued an impressive 2025 campaign with a strong 10.07s for Bronze, while veteran and three-time national champion Seye Ogunlewe showed he can still rub shoulders with the young guns, finishing 4th in 10.09s.
Nnamdi Onwaeze won the men’s 110m Hurdles title in a time of 14.13s. The NCAA DII Championships finalist won his first national title on his very first try ahead of Wisdom Great Musa who finished 2nd in 14.19s. Musa had run a PB of 13.73s in the first round.
Tobi Amusan also took to the track in the women’s 100m repechage round, impressing with an easy 11.28s clocking to advance to the semifinal round on Day 3. Other heat winners were African U20 Champion Success Oyibu (11.57s), Ejiro Peter (11.66s) and Azeezat Muhammed-Raji (11.82s).
Gafar Badmus was the fastest man in the men’s 400m semifinals, winning his race in a time of 46.93s ahead of David Akhalu who finished in 47.32s. He took things easy and in stride, compared to his first round race where he ran 45.91s.
The second semifinal went to African U20 Silver medallist Ezekiel Eno Asuquo in a time of 47.07s, ahead of Victor Sampson who posted 47.17s and Benjamin Magaji in 3rd place.
Blessing Oluwayemi dominated the men’s Triple Jump from the onset, repeatedly hitting marks way beyond what any other athlete could manage and although he had a slight niggle mid-competition, his best mark came in the last round where he jumped 15.66m (-1.0).
Olaoluwa Akindunbi (15.00m) and Timothy Ugherakpoteni (14.86m) got 2nd and 3rd respectively.
On the infield, Divine Oladipo made a winning appearance in Nigeria, having recently just switched from Great Britain, taking the women’s Shot Put with a best of 17.01m ahead of Temitope Ademola and Eze Peace Udochukwu.
