At just 20 years old, Kayinsola Ajayi has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most exciting sprint prospects. Competing in the 100m, he comes into the World Championships with a season’s best and personal best of 9.92s, which places him 29th in the global rankings.

This will be his first World Championship appearance, but Ajayi is no stranger to the international stage. He reached the semi-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and also made the final of the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Ajayi won the Nigerian national title in June 2024 and followed that with a silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the African Championships in Douala, and he is the first Nigerian to run four sub-10s in a year.

Obiageri Amaechi

Obiageri Amaechi, 26, leads Nigeria’s charge in the women’s discus. She set a personal best and season’s best of 64.80m this year, ranking 31st in the world. This will be her second appearance at the World Championships.

Amaechi’s rise in Nigerian athletics began with a bronze at the 2022 African Championships, followed by a national title that same year. She claimed Commonwealth Games bronze in Birmingham and has steadily grown into one of Africa’s best throwers. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she fell short of the final, finishing 32nd overall, but rebounded with a silver medal at the 2024 African Championships.

Amaechi will look to translate her continental dominance into a breakthrough on the global stage.

Tobi Amusan

Nigeria’s most decorated athlete, Tobi Amusan, arrives in Tokyo seeking to add to her storied legacy. The 28-year-old is the world record holder in the 100m hurdles with her iconic 12.12s mark set in Eugene in 2022.

In 2025, Amusan remains among the very best despite her mixed results across the season, clocking 12.24s as her season’s best, the fourth-fastest time in the world this year. Ranked ninth globally, this will be her fifth World Championships appearance as Amusan aims to reaffirm her status at the pinnacle of global hurdling.

Ese Brume

At 29, Ese Brume is already a legend of African athletics. The long jumper holds the African record at 7.17m and has been a consistent medallist at the global level, with two World Championship medals and an Olympic bronze.

Her season’s best of 6.79m places her among the leading contenders once again, and she enters Tokyo as African champion and Commonwealth title holder. Brume is also the first African to win two medals in the long jump at the World Championships. This will be her fifth World Championships appearance.

Rosemary Chukwuma

Rosemary Chukwuma, 23, has steadily developed into one of Nigeria’s most reliable sprinters, and the country will rely heavily on her in the absence of Tima Godbless and Turkey-bound Favour Ofili. With a personal best of 10.88s and a season’s best of 11.03s, she comes into her fourth World Championships ranked 61st globally.

Chukwuma reached the semi-finals of the 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has already made her mark with relay medals, including Commonwealth bronze and African Games gold. She first burst onto the scene in 2018 by winning 100m gold at the Youth Olympics.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi

Nigeria’s undisputed king of the shot put, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, has taken African throwing to unprecedented heights. At 32, he holds the African record of 22.10m, set at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, where he became the first African ever to break the 22-metre barrier.

Enekwechi’s 22.10m record is also the seventh-farthest throw in the world this year, which earned him a spot in the Diamond League final. He also reached the final of the Paris 2024 Olympics and has collected multiple African titles.

This will be his fifth World Championships appearance.

Charles Godfred

21-year-old Charles Godfred will make his World Championships debut in the men’s long jump. With a personal best of 8.14m and a season’s best of 8.10m, he ranks 42nd globally.

Godfred is a two-time Nigerian champion, African U-20 champion, and NCAA finalist. In 2025, he retained his national crown in Lagos and produced consistent marks in the NCAA season.

Tokyo presents the chance for Godfred to announce himself on the world stage as Nigeria’s next big long jumper.

Perhaps Nigeria’s most in-form athlete, Nathaniel heads to Tokyo ranked fifth in the world in the men’s 400m hurdles. The 22-year-old has broken the national record five times this year, lowering it to 47.31s.

Nathaniel won the NCAA title for Baylor University in his final year and reached the Diamond League final, competing against the likes of Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin.

This will be his third World Championships appearance, and he arrives with genuine medal ambitions. For Nigeria, he is the standard-bearer of the new generation.

Prestina Ochonogor

At 19, Prestina Ochonogor is Nigeria’s youngest female athlete in Tokyo. She competes in the long jump and is already the African U-20 record holder at 6.79m. Her season’s best is 6.67m, which ranks her 35th globally.

Ochonogor announced herself with a bronze medal at the 2023 African Games and has since won back-to-back Nigerian titles in 2024 and 2025. She also reached the Olympic final in Paris and is now set for her World Championships debut.

Samuel Ogazi

Samuel Ogazi, 19, heads into his World Championships debut as an NCAA champion in the men’s 400m. With a personal best of 44.41s and a season’s best of 44.43s, he ranks 15th in the world.

Ogazi already has a bronze medal from the African Championships in Douala and made the Olympic final in Paris, finishing seventh overall.

Chidi Okezie

Veteran sprinter Chidi Okezie will make his long-awaited World Championships debut at 32. He enters with a season’s best of 44.98s, just shy of his personal best of 44.97s, and is ranked 32nd globally.

Okezie is the reigning African Games 400m champion, having claimed the title in 2024 after years of steady progress. He also reached the Olympic semi-finals in Paris.

Israel Okon

At just 18, Israel Okon is Nigeria’s youngest competitor in Tokyo and the national 100m champion. He has a personal best of 10.03s, which is also the Nigerian U-20 record.

Okon has been on a rapid rise, equalling the world U-20 60m record earlier this year and reaching the NCAA finals with Auburn University. He also helped Nigeria to 4x100m relay gold at the 2023 African Games.

This will be his first World Championships. With a fearless approach, Okon has set his sights on reaching the 100m final in his debut outing.

Sade Olatoye

Hammer thrower Sade Olatoye will make her fourth World Championships appearance. The 28-year-old has a personal best of 71.88m and a season’s best of 70.27m, ranking 33rd in the world.

Olatoye switched allegiance from the United States to Nigeria in 2019 and has since become a consistent continental medallist. She claimed silver at the 2024 African Championships and won the Nigerian title in 2025.

Udodi Onwuzurike

Sprinter Udodi Onwuzurike, 22, will make his second World Championships appearance in the 200m. He holds a personal best of 19.76s, with a season’s best of 20.17s, ranking him 30th globally.

Onwuzurike competed in the 200m at the Paris Olympics, reaching the semi-finals, and has also contested Diamond League finals this year. He has broken the 10-second barrier in the 100m and the 20-second barrier in the 200m, joining an elite group of sprinters.

Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons

Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons, 31, is a veteran of the discus throw and will make her fourth World Championships appearance. She is the African record holder with a throw of 64.96m and has a season’s best of 64.12m this year.

The national champion has been a dominant force in African athletics, winning back-to-back continental titles and claiming Commonwealth Games gold in 2022. She has consistently raised the standard for Nigerian women’s throwing on the international stage. (Saturday PUNCH)

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