Amusan, Ajayi, Others Lead Nigeria To First World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Nigeria is set to field a strong contingent at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, with Tobi Amusan, Kayinsola Ajayi, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Samuel Ogazi and Ella Onojuvwevwo among the athletes expected to compete in Budapest, Hungary.

The three-day championship is scheduled to hold from September 11 to 13 at the National Athletics Centre and will bring together Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and leading performers of the 2026 season.

According to a statement signed by Kola Daniel, Special Adviser on Media to the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Nigeria currently has five qualified athletes, while additional athletes are still seeking qualification before the September 2 deadline.

Temitope Adeshina remains in contention for qualification, while Nigeria’s relay pool includes Alaba Akintola, Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Chigozie and Jennifer Obi Chukwuka.

The statement described the championship as a new global competition designed to “crown the ultimate champions in track and field.”

Amusan, the women’s 100m hurdles world-record holder, is ranked second globally in the event and will be among Nigeria’s biggest medal hopes.

She set the world record of 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she became the first Nigerian woman to win a World Championships gold medal.

She is also a three-time Diamond League Final winner and a World Championships silver medallist.

Ajayi, Ogazi lead emerging stars
Ajayi, 21, is also expected to attract attention in Budapest following a remarkable 2026 season in the men’s 100m.

The Nigerian sprinter has equalled the national record three times this year, most recently clocking 9.84 seconds to win the Novuna London Athletics Meet in July.

He also defeated reigning world champion Oblique Seville in the same time at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene and currently ranks fifth in the world.

Ajayi’s season has included an NCAA title and two Diamond League victories, establishing him as one of Nigeria’s leading prospects in the men’s 100m.

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Ezekiel enters the championship ranked fourth in the world after a strong season that includes a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow.

He has also lowered the Nigerian record to 47.11 seconds in 2025 after first announcing himself internationally with a 48.42-second national record in 2022.

Ogazi, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the leading young 400m runners in the world.

The 20-year-old won Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow in 44.25 seconds, shortly after setting a Nigerian record of 43.38 seconds on June 12.

According to the statement, Ogazi’s progression has been rapid, having reached the Olympic final at Paris 2024 and become the fourth-fastest man in history over 400m.

Onojuvwevwo will represent Nigeria in the women’s 400m after a breakthrough season that saw her become the first Nigerian woman in more than two decades to break the 50-second barrier.

The 21-year-old clocked 49.59 seconds at the LSU Battle on the Bayou in April and later won bronze at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Nigeria targets strong relay showing
Nigeria will also rely on its relay pool to boost its medal prospects in Budapest.

The contingent includes Akintola, Onwuzurike, Ashe, Ezechukwu, Chigozie and Obi Chukwuka, subject to final qualification and selection.

The statement noted that Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m relay team had already demonstrated its potential by qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics, with Ogazi and Onojuvwevwo among the athletes involved.

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will feature some of the biggest names in global athletics, including Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis, Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred, Faith Kipyegon, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Rai Benjamin and Marileidy Paulino.

World champions Femke Bol, Letsile Tebogo, Oblique Seville, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Nicola Olyslagers and Ditaji Kambundji are also expected to compete.

The championship will have a record $10 million prize purse, with each individual gold medallist receiving $150,000.

Nigeria could increase its representation before the qualification window closes on September 2.