Ajayi set for Silesia Diamond League showdown

Nigerian sprint sensation Kayinsola Ajayi will return to Diamond League action on Sunday when he lines up in the men’s 100m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia, Poland, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The meeting is the penultimate leg of the Road to the Final series and the second Diamond League event in three days, following Athletissima in Lausanne on Friday.

Ajayi will face a star-studded field featuring world champion Oblique Seville, Olympic champion Andre De Grasse, Americans Christian Coleman and Kenneth Bednarek, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, South Africa’s Akani Simbine and others.

The Nigerian will also renew his rivalry with Commonwealth Games champion Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, who recently edged him in Glasgow.

Ajayi heads into the meeting in the midst of a breakthrough season that has seen him establish himself among the world’s leading young sprinters.

The 21-year-old broke Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old Nigerian 100m record of 9.85 seconds in May, clocking 9.84 at the 2026 NCAA Division I East First Round in the United States.

He subsequently won the NCAA outdoor 100m title and has equalled his national record twice, while also claiming two Diamond League victories this season.

Ajayi’s impressive campaign continued at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he won bronze in the men’s 100m.

The Auburn University standout, who announced on Thursday that he would forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility after three seasons, is now set to begin his professional career with Adidas.

“New era. I am grateful to God to finally announce that I am officially embarking on the next chapter of my journey—continuing my professional track and field career with Adidas,” Ajayi wrote on X.

The Nigerian had signed a Name, Image and Likeness deal with Adidas in April 2025 while competing for Auburn.

With one of the final opportunities to earn points ahead of the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 4-5, Ajayi will be aiming to cap his first season as a professional with another strong performance in Silesia.