Nigeria’s national champion, Kanyinsola Ajayi qualified for the men’s 100m Semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympics, after winning his heat on Saturday.
Ajayi won Heat 5 in 10.02s ahead of reigning Olympic champion Marcel Jacobs who was second in 10.05. Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu was third in 10.06s.
Kanyinsola Ajayi Is Having An Impressive Season
Days before the Paris Olympics, Ajayi lowered his personal best to 10.00 (0.1) at the Spitzen Leichathletik Luzern meet.
At the NCCA national final, Kanyisola Ajayi finished third behind Favour Ashe in second and ahead of Godson Brume in 4th.
He broke his PB set during the collegiate season, bringing Favour Ashe for a Nigerian 1-3 as the latter finished 3rd in a solid 10.10s. Ronnie Baker was 2nd in 10.09s.
A Rematch With Marcel Jacobs In The Paris 2024 Semi Final Awaits
Qualifying for the semi-final comes with a nigger challenge for Kanyisola Ajayi as he will once again face Marcel Jacobs in Semi-Final 2.
He will also face Botswana’s Tebogo and Akani Simbine of South Africa in a tough Semi-final duel.
Elsewhere for Nigeria, Favour Ashe got a semi-final spot as part of the three fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
Ashe’s 10.16s to finish fourth in Heat 4 was fast enough to move on at the Paris 2024 Olympics.