The King: Kanyinsola Ajayi sets track on fire in historic Nigerian sprint season

Kanyinsola Ajayi has turned 2026 into a season for the history books, and the Nigerian sprint sensation is only just getting started. 

The 21-year-old from Ikorodu has delivered a breakout campaign that has established him as one of the most explosive young sprinters in the world.

His latest headline-grabbing performance came on June 12 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he stormed to victory in the 100m final in 9.72 seconds. 

It was a breathtaking run that left the field behind, with LSU’s Jaiden Reid finishing second in 9.82s and Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins in third at 9.87s. 

The mark, however, came with a wind reading of 2.2 m/s, which means it will not count as an official legal record, even though it underlined Ajayi’s frightening speed.

Just two weeks earlier, Ajayi had already made Nigerian athletics history in a far more official way. At the NCAA East Regional in Lexington, Kentucky, he clocked 9.84 seconds with a legal wind of 0.4 m/s, breaking Olusoji Fasuba’s long-standing Nigerian national record of 9.85 seconds, which had stood since 2006. 

That run briefly made Ajayi, who finished sixth in the World Athletics Championship, the world leader in the 100m for the 2026 season and confirmed his arrival as a major force in global sprinting.

His dominance was not limited to the outdoor season. In March, Ajayi claimed the NCAA Indoor 60m title in Fayetteville with a blistering 6.45 seconds, edging out Jelani Watkins once again. 

That performance tied Christian Coleman’s legendary collegiate record, matched the African indoor record and also erased Deji Aliu’s 1999 Nigerian national record of 6.48 seconds.

Put together, the numbers tell the story of a sprinter in complete command of his craft. Ajayi has swept both NCAA indoor and outdoor national titles for Auburn University, while also producing the highest number of sub-10 second 100m finishes in a single season by any Nigerian athlete in history.

For Nigeria, the significance is enormous. Ajayi is not just winning races, he is reshaping the country’s sprinting ceiling and reminding the world that Nigerian speed is still very much alive.