Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi and Favour Ashe advance to 100m semifinals at Paris 2024 olympics
Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi and Favour Ashe have both qualified for the semifinals of the men’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ajayi, 19, won heat 5 with a record-breaking time of 10.02s (-0.3), breaking Davidson Ezinwa’s record for the fastest opening round time by a Nigerian at the Games (10.03s). Ashe, also a student at Auburn University in the USA, finished fourth in his heat with a time of 10.16s and qualified as a non-automatic qualifier.
They will be joined in the semifinals by top athletes, including Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (9.99s), Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe (9.98s), USA’s Noah Lyles, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, and USA’s Kenny Bednarek, who won their respective heats.
Ajayi’s lifetime best of 10.00 seconds has him edging closer to the coveted sub-10s mark. The Nigerian duo’s advancement to the semifinals marks a promising start for Nigeria in the men’s 100m event, following Enoch Adegoke’s impressive performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where he reached the final with a time of 10.00 seconds.
In the semifinals on Sunday, Ajayi and Ashe face formidable opponents. Ajayi will contend with Letsile Tebogo, Akani Simbine, and Kenneth Bednarek in heat 2, while Ashe takes on Noah Lyles, Oblique Seville, Louie Hinchliffe, Emmanuel Eseme, and Benjamin Azamati in his heat.
To match Adegoke’s feat and make an impact in the final, Ajayi and Ashe must deliver exceptional performances to secure a spot in the final.
