Ajayi Breaks Meet Record with Lightning 9.92s in France, Becomes Nigeria’s Fourth Fastest Ever

Ajayi Breaks Meet Record with Lightning 9.92s in France, Becomes Nigeria’s Fourth Fastest Ever

Nigerian sprint sensation Kanyinsola Ajayi delivered another electrifying performance on Monday evening, clocking 9.92 seconds to win the men’s 100m at the Meeting International de Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France.

Launching from lane five at Stade Jean Adret with a sharp reaction time of 0.156 seconds, the 20-year-old sprint star outclassed a world-class field that included five sub-10 second athletes. With a legal tailwind of +1.7 m/s, Ajayi’s finish smashed the previous meet record of 10.02 seconds, held by Keston Bledman of Trinidad and Tobago since 2015.

Veteran Cameroonian, Emmanuel Eseme, placed second with a time of 10.04s, followed by Senegal’s Mamadou Sarr in 10.10s.

British sprinter Eugene Amo-Dadzie, a recent winner at the European Athletics Team Championships, finished fourth in 10.16s, narrowly edging Australia’s Rohan Browning, who clocked the same time but ranked fifth due to time differentials. Other finishers included Canada’s Jerome Blake (10.23s), South Africa’s Tsebo Matsoso (10.32s) and France’s Jimmy Vicaut (10.36s).

Ajayi’s triumph comes after his strong showing at the 2024 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he first ran 9.92s—a breakout performance that signaled his entry into the global elite.

With this latest win, Ajayi joins the ranks of Nigeria’s sprinting greats, now tied with Seun Ogunkoya and Udodi Onwuzurike as the country’s fourth fastest 100m runner. Only Soji Fasuba (9.85), Divine Oduduru (9.86s) and Godson Oghenebrume (9.90s) have recorded faster times.

A standout at Auburn University, Ajayi now holds two of the top five fastest legal times in Nigerian sprint history—all achieved at just 20 years old. He also becomes only the third Nigerian sprinter, after Davidson Ezinwa and Ogunkoya, to post four sub-10 second runs, the second-highest total by a Nigerian athlete.

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Earlier this year, he narrowly missed a podium finish at the African Championships in Cameroon, placing fourth in the 100m but helping Team Nigeria secure silver in the 4x100m relay.

Ajayi’s impressive indoor season saw him clock a lifetime best of 6.48s over 60m at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships, followed by a 6.52s performance in Virginia Beach, where he finished runner-up in a fiercely competitive race.

Ajayi’s consistency, power, and youth continue to place him firmly in the conversation as one of Nigeria’s next global track icons.