Indoor Record: Nathaniel Ezekiel becomes first African man under sub-45s mark in 400m history

In just his second race of the 2025 season, Nigerian quarter-mile sensation Ezekiel Nathaniel shattered numerous 400m indoor records to become the first African man under the sub-45s mark in history.

The Baylor University junior blazed to a jaw-dropping time of 44.92s to win his 400m heat at the Jarvis Scott Invite, shattering his previous Personal Best (PB) of 45.54s clocked last year.

In addition, the time obliterated the late Sunday Bada’s Nigerian Record of 45.51s and Eugene Omalla’s African Record of 45.18s set last year, plus currently sits as the second fastest time in the world in 2025.

Nathaniel has been a huge revelation for Nigerian athletics since he gained a US college scholarship at Baylor University three years ago. He has now become a major force in the NCAA in his trademark event - the 400mH and now the 400m.

With his time, the 21-year-old joins an elite league of Nigerian quarter-milers to have gone under the 45s mark in history, becoming eleventh overall and ninth on the Nigerian all-time list. His time also places him fourteenth on the world list in history.

Despite being a 400m hurdler, his main event, in which he is the National Record (NR) holder at 48.00s, Nathaniel has shown he can be a force in the one-lap event and has the talent to lower his time. This puts him on track to break the legendary Innocent Egbunike's long-standing outdoor 400m national record of 44.17s.