'I worked hard to be here' - Kanyinsola Ajayi reveals after blistering 9.92s run at NCAA Championship semifinals

Kanyinsola Ajayi has become the fourth fastest Nigerian man in history after running a blistering new Personal Best (PB) of 9.92s to win his 100m semifinal heat on Day 1 of the NCAA Championships in Oregon.

The Auburn University sophomore ran a well-executed race, blasting off from the start and holding on to his form to the finish line, clocking the astonishing time to smash his previous PB of 9.96s and break the School Record (SR).

He was clear ahead of LSU's Jaiden Reid in 10.02s, while pre-race favourite Jordan Anthony settled for fourth in 10.06s.

In addition, Ajayi was the only athlete to break the sub-10s mark and qualified for the final with the fastest time. His younger compatriot and teammate Israel Okon also made the final after clocking a PB of 10.07s.

Speaking after the race in an interview with @eseoguma, the talented speedster revealed he simply listened to his coach by executing perfectly.

"Throughout the season, I've been going back to my race, watching my race. Like my coach told me, I just have to push more after the 70 I got tired but I just had to push more. So today, I just listened to him, I was like I'm not going to think about my competitors, I'm just going to go there to run my race," said the 20-year-old.

Ajayi also disclosed the sacrifices he made to get to this stage of his career from his humble beginnings in Ikorodu, Nigeria.

"Where I come from people don't know how hard it is to be here today. They thought I just woke up one day and everything started happening. No, I worked hard to be here, I worked hard to be here."

With the final slated for Friday, Ajayi will be gunning to become the third Nigerian athlete after Olapade Adeniekan (1990) and Divine Oduduru (2018) to win the NCAA 100m title.

He will also aim to lower his time, and perhaps surpass his predecessors Olusoji Fasuba (9.85s), Divine Oduduru (9.86s), and Godson Brume (9.90s) on the Nigerian all-time list.