Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi has surged into the semifinals of the men’s 100m event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning heat 5 with a remarkable time of 10.02 seconds (-0.3).

This performance set a new record for the fastest opening round time by a Nigerian at the Games, surpassing Davidson Ezinwa’s previous record of 10.03 seconds.

The 19-year-old Ajayi outpaced Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, who finished second with 10.05 seconds, and Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, who came in third with 10.06 seconds. Ajayi, who has a personal best of 10.00 seconds, is approaching the coveted sub-10 seconds mark.

Another Nigerian competitor, Favour Ashe, also a student at Auburn University, secured a spot in the semifinals. Ashe finished fourth in his heat with a time of 10.16 seconds and progressed as a non-automatic qualifier.

In other heats, Jamaica’s Oblique Seville won heat 4 with a time of 9.99 seconds, while Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe led the field in heat 3 with a time of 9.98 seconds, becoming the first athlete to break the 10-second barrier this year. Noah Lyles, despite a challenging performance, advanced to the semifinals by finishing second in his heat behind Hinchliffe.

Ajayi and Ashe will join other top athletes in the semifinals, including South Africa’s Akani Simbine and USA’s Kenny Bednarek, who won their respective heats. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke reached the 100m final for the first time in 25 years.

Today, Ajayi will compete in heat 2 against formidable rivals such as Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Akani Simbine of South Africa, and Kenneth Bednarek of the USA. Ashe faces a tough challenge in his heat, going up against Noah Lyles, Oblique Seville, Louie Hinchliffe, Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, and Benjamin Azamati of Ghana.

Both Nigerians will need exceptional performances to advance to the final and aim for a podium finish, echoing Adegoke’s historic achievement.