In Part 1 of our annual series on Nigeria’s Top 10 Male Athletes in 2025, we highlighted the impressive performances of Nos. 10 to 6 on our list. Part 2 showcases the exploits of our Top 5 Male Athletes, who laid down markers with their exceptional achievements this year. Let’s dive into ranks 5 to 1!
5. Israel Okon
Nigerian sprinter Israel Okon kicked off his season with a Bronze medal over 60m at the Orange and Purple Invitational. A month later, he won Silver at the SEC Indoor Championships with 6.55s, having clocked an impressive lifetime best of 6.51s in the heats to equal teammate Kayinsola Ajayi’s School Record. He put up a brilliant showing to claim Bronze at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 6.52s to draw the curtains on a great indoor season.
Okon ran his fastest time under all conditions, a stunning 9.91s (+2.9), to win the 100m at the LSU Invitational and managed a 4th-place finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships. He also placed 7th at the NCAA Championships. The Auburn athlete stormed to a new Personal Best (PB) of 10.03s (1.2) in his 100m heat at the Nigerian Athletics Championships in Lagos in July and stunned the field to win the men’s 100m title in 10.04s.
His World Championships debut in Tokyo was the major career highlight for Okon, who won his heat in 10.04s, beating Zharnel Hughes and former Olympic Champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs. He then placed 7th in the semis to bring his explosive season to an end. In just one season, Okon has gone from an up-and-coming athlete to one of Nigeria’s brightest stars. He went on to sign an NIL deal with Adidas.
4. Samuel Ogazi
Samuel Ogazi began his 2025 season in the men’s 300m at the Clemson Invite, finishing 3rd in 34.11s in his only indoor race of the season. He then stepped up to the 400m at the Tiger Track Classic in Auburn and won with a Season’s Best (SB) of 44.98s. He also helped his school win GOLD in the 4x400m relay at the LSU Invitational and then claimed the SEC men’s 400m title in 45.04s.
At the NCAA East Prelims, he cruised to victory in his 400m quarterfinal, clocking an SB of 44.43s. In June, he won his 400m semifinal at the NCAA Championships in Oregon with 44.77s, the fastest time across all heats. He completed the job in the final, clinching the NCAA men’s 400m title in 44.84s, far ahead of the rest of the field and making history as the first man from Alabama to win the title since Kirani James and only the second Nigerian after Clement Chukwu (in 1999) to win the NCAA Outdoor 400m title.
Ogazi raced at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest, where he returned a time of 45.85s. He thereafter made his World Championship debut in Tokyo, competing in the heats of the 400m and finishing 5th to bring a close to his 2025 season.
3. Kayinsola Ajayi
Kayinsola Ajayi made a statement at the Clemson Invite, racing to a new PB and SR of 6.51s in the semis of the 60m. He went even faster at the NCAA Indoor Championships where he equalled Deji Aliu’s National 60m record, racing to a new PB of 6.48s in the heats and ending his indoor season with a Silver medal in the final with 6.52s.
In April, Ajayi broke into the sub-10 club for the first time, running 9.96s to win the men’s 100m at the Tom Jones Memorial. He won Silver at the SEC Outdoor Championships in 10.01s. He ran 9.95s at the NCAA East Preliminaries and won his semifinal race at the NCAA Championships in 9.92s, narrowly missing out on a medal in 4th place in the final with 10.13s but winning a second consecutive GOLD in the 4x100m with Auburn. Moving to Europe, Ajayi won the men’s 100m at the Meeting de Sotteville in a new Meeting Record of 9.92s.
At the World Championships in Tokyo, Ajayi ran a lifetime best of 9.88s to finish 2nd in his heat ahead of Jamaica’s Oblique Seville. He then clocked a brilliant 9.93s – his sixth sub-10s of the season – to place 2nd behind Noah Lyles in the semis to book automatic qualification into the final, becoming the first Nigerian man in 18 years to reach the World Championships 100m final. Ajayi placed a commendable 6th in the final to end his season on a high note.
2. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has been Nigeria’s most consistent athlete in nearly a decade! His 2025 season started brightly in the Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland, where he finished 2nd with a throw of 20.88m. He was the sole Nigerian at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing and threw 21.25m for 5th in the men’s shot put. He followed this up with a 21.58m throw at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, surpassing 21m three times. At Rovereto’s Citta’ della Quercia, he threw 21.62m.
The highlight of his 2025 season came in July. Enekwechi became the first African to throw over 22m in the men’s Shot put. At the Eugene Diamond League, he set a new African record (AR) of 22.10m, finishing in 3rd place. This beat his previous PB and NR of 21.91m set at the same meet the previous year.
Enekwechi qualified for his third consecutive final at a major global championship, advancing from the qualifying rounds of the men’s Shot put at the World Championships in Tokyo on Day 1 with his mark of 20.83m. In the final later that evening, he threw 20.90m on his first attempt, fouled on his second, and then threw 20.59m on his third. He came close to winning a medal, finishing 5th with a 21.52m throw in the sixth round. The AR holder will end his season with a big personal milestone—getting married to his sweetheart.
1. Ezekiel Nathaniel
Our No.1 Nigerian Male Athlete of the Year is none other than Ezekiel Nathaniel, who shattered the Nigerian Record in the 400m hurdles six times and broke the African Indoor Record over 400m twice in 2025! In only his second 400m of the indoor season, Nathaniel stormed to a new African Record (AR) of 44.92s in Texas, becoming the first African man to break 45s indoors. This broke late Sunday Bada’s previous AR of 45.51s set in 1997.
Nathaniel continued his record-breaking ways, setting another AR of 44.74s to win GOLD at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, just two weeks later. He followed that with a Silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a win at the UCF Invitational in Florida, running an outdoor PB of 44.75s. Nathaniel clocked a new NR of 47.90s over the 400m Hurdles at the Big 12 Championships and shaved off 0.01s in the final to strike GOLD.
In June, the talented athlete was named the 2025 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Athlete of the Year, going undefeated in the 400m hurdles and eventually clinching the NCAA title in his Senior year with a new NR of 47.49s, erasing the 47.86s he set in the semis. He would break the NR once again, clocking 47.31s at the Silesia Diamond League.
At the World Championships in Tokyo, Nathaniel stamped his authority, winning his heat and semis, narrowly missing the Bronze medal despite smashing his NR once again, finishing 4th in 47.11s, just 0.01s shy of the African Record. This was a historic performance for Nathaniel, who became the first Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships. Nigeria is fortunate to have such a phenomenal talent.
