Africa has never been short of world-class athletes, and 2025 wasn’t any different. This countdown celebrates ten male athletes who delivered the biggest impact on the global stage, shaping some of the best storylines and carrying their nations with pride. We start our countdown with the athletes placed 10 to 6.
10. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi
There’s no better representative for African throws than Chukwuebuka Enekwechi. Since 2017, he has been Nigeria’s ever-present force in the men’s Shot Put, competing at every global championship ever since and steadily raising the bar for the continent. He’s also been unbeaten on African soil since 2018, amassing five continental titles in the process.
‘Big Chuks’, as he’s fondly called, was Nigeria’s sole representative at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, where he finished 5th, his highest placement ever at a global championship. He opened his season consistently in the mid-21m range before breaking new ground at the Prefontaine Classic, launching the shot to a massive Personal Best (PB) of 22.10m!
That mark not only bettered his previous PB and Nigerian Record of 21.91m but also shattered the long-standing African Record of 21.97m set by Janus Robberts in 2001, making Enekwechi the first African man in history to surpass the 22m barrier.
He carried that momentum through the rest of the season, placing in the top three at most of his meets. Enekwechi capped off an outstanding year with another 5th-place finish at the World Championships in Tokyo, matching his indoor result and reaffirming his status among the world’s best.
9. Zakithi Nene
Zakithi Nene is the latest star to emerge from South Africa’s rich mine of 400m talent. Not exactly a newcomer, he made his global debut for his country at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and has featured on every major team since. But no season defined him quite like 2025.
With the South African summer usually very early in the year, Nene opened his campaign as far back as February. His start was relatively quiet until the National Championships in Potchefstroom, where he shattered his Personal Best with a 44.22s run, a huge improvement on his previous 44.74s from 2022.
He played a key role in South Africa’s golden run at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, helping the men’s 4x400m team strike GOLD in a National Record of 2:57.50, a mark that stood as the World Lead (WL) for the rest of the season.
Then came his breakout performance. At the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Nene stormed to a stunning 43.76s to win the men’s 400m, moving into the top 20 on the all-time list. He maintained that form through the Diamond League, finishing top 3 in each of his appearances, and at the World Championships, where he made the final for the first time in his career and placed 5th overall.
Nene capped off a sensational season by anchoring South Africa to Bronze in the men’s 4x400m – their only medal at the Championships.
8. Ezekiel Nathaniel
Ezekiel Nathaniel ended his 2024 season with a semifinal placing at the Olympic Games. Fast-forward 29 races later, he’s the fourth-best 400m hurdler in the world and the highest-ranked Nigerian male athlete in World Athletics history, sitting at No. 15.
It was a dream season for the Baylor standout, one that spanned both the 400m flat and his specialist event, the 400m hurdles. He began the year indoors, where he shattered the African Record in the 400m with 44.92s and then a staggering 44.74s, making him the 8th fastest man in indoor history. Nathaniel went on to win the Big 12 title and narrowly missed out on the NCAA Indoor crown.
Outdoors, he was simply untouchable. Nathaniel broke the Nigerian 400m hurdles Record an astonishing six times (47.90, 47.89, 47.86, 47.49, 47.31, 47.11), the first four of those coming during the NCAA season. He claimed the Big 12 Outdoor title, breaking 48 seconds for the first time, then upgraded his 2023 and 2024 NCAA Outdoor Bronze medals to GOLD with another record-breaking run in Eugene.
He made his Diamond League debut at the Prefontaine Classic, finishing 3rd, and went on to place top 3 in all four of his Diamond League appearances. At the World Championships in Tokyo, Nathaniel became the first Nigerian man since 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final — and finished 4th in what was arguably the most stacked final in history, clocking 47.11s to become the 10th fastest man of all time.
7. Alphonce Simbu
Eight years after winning Bronze in the men’s marathon at the London 2017 World Championships, Alphonce Simbu returned to the global stage to deliver the biggest performance of his career. He remained largely under the radar through most of the 2025 season, except for the Boston Marathon, where he finished a remarkable 2nd, his best-ever placing at any of the World Marathon Majors.
In hindsight, the signs were there. At the Valencia Marathon in December 2024, Simbu ran 2:04:38 to finish 4th, a lifetime best that hinted at what was to come. With only two marathons on his 2025 calendar, his second was at the World Championships in Tokyo, where he produced a performance for the ages.
Simbu made history, becoming the first Tanzanian athlete to win a global title, claiming GOLD in the men’s marathon. He achieved the feat in dramatic fashion, winning by the smallest margin ever in a global championship marathon.
In a thrilling sprint finish inside the Tokyo Stadium, Simbu chased down Germany’s Amanal Petros in the final metres, edging him by 0.03 seconds. Both men were credited with 2:09:48, separated only by the photo finish.
One of just two Tanzanian athletes at the Championships, Simbu stayed in contention throughout the race before unleashing his decisive kick over the final 30 metres – upgrading the Bronze he earned in 2017 to a historic World GOLD.
6. Djamel Sedjati
Among athletics enthusiasts, Djamel Sedjati is as close to a sure bet as it gets in the men’s 800m. He’s firmly part of the event’s “big three,” having now medalled at the last two global championships.
Sedjati was in scintillating form throughout 2024, and heading into the Paris Olympics, the title race was quite open. He had produced multiple World Leads during the season and climbed several spots on the all-time list. When the Olympic final came, he delivered once again, claiming Bronze in a fiercely contested race.
The 2025 season was quieter by comparison. Sedjati raced sparingly and didn’t claim a single Diamond League win, with his best finish being 4th at the Zurich final – a sharp contrast to his previous season.
But when the lights were brightest, the Algerian rose to the moment. In one of the strongest 800m finals ever assembled at the World Championships in Tokyo, Sedjati timed his race to perfection. Sitting in 6th with 100m to go, he unleashed his trademark late surge to claim Silver in 1:41.90, just 0.04s shy of GOLD.
