By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
Nigeria is set for a strong showing at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, with Tobi Amusan, Kayinsola Ajayi, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Samuel Ogazi and Ella Onojuvwevwo among the athletes expected to represent the country at the three-day competition in Budapest, Hungary.
The championship, scheduled for September 11 to 13, 2026, at the National Athletics Centre, will bring together Olympic and world champions, Diamond League winners and leading performers of the 2026 season in a new competition designed to crown the ultimate champions in track and field.
Nigeria’s currently qualified athletes include Amusan, Ajayi, Ezekiel, Ogazi and Onojuvwevwo, while additional athletes still have until the September 2 qualification deadline to secure their places.
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, subject to final qualification and selection.
Amusan, the world-record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, will be one of Nigeria’s biggest medal hopes in Budapest. She holds the official world record of 12.12 seconds, set in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she went on to win Nigeria’s first women’s World Championships gold medal.
The three-time Diamond League Final winner and World Championships silver medallist currently ranks second in the world in her event.
Ajayi, 21, will head to Budapest after a remarkable 2026 season that has established him among the world’s leading 100m sprinters. He currently ranks fifth globally and equalled Nigeria’s national record three times this year.
His latest 9.84-second performance earned him victory at the Novuna London Athletics Meet in July, where he defeated reigning world champion Oblique Seville. He had previously clocked the same time to defeat Seville at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Ajayi’s season has also featured an NCAA title and two Diamond League victories, placing him among Nigeria’s strongest prospects for major international honours.
Ezekiel competed in the men’s 400m hurdles after an impressive season that included Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, where he won in 48.47 seconds.
The 400m hurdler, who first gained international attention after winning the Big 12 title and breaking the Nigerian record in 2022, has since competed at multiple World Championships and the Paris Olympics. He holds the Nigerian national record of 47.11 seconds and currently ranks fourth in the world.
Ogazi, 20, has also emerged as one of Nigeria’s brightest young athletics stars. He won the men’s 400m gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 44.25 seconds, narrowly missing the Games record of 44.24 seconds.
Earlier in June, Ogazi set a Nigerian national record of 43.38 seconds. He had also been a finalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics and arrived in Glasgow ranked No. 1 in the world, according to Commonwealth Sport.
Onojuvwevwo has enjoyed a breakthrough season in the women’s 400m. The 21-year-old became the first Nigerian woman in more than two decades to break 50 seconds in the event when she clocked 49.59 seconds at the LSU Battle on the Bayou in April.
She also set an African indoor record of 50.28 seconds at the NCAA Indoor Championships before winning bronze at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 51.00 seconds.
Nigeria’s relay hopes will also be boosted by a pool featuring Akintola, Onwuzurike, Ashe, Ezechukwu, Chigozie and Obi Chukwuka.
The mixed 4x400m relay has already demonstrated Nigeria’s potential on the global stage, with Ogazi and Onojuvwevwo among the athletes who helped the country qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Ultimate Championship will feature a record prize purse of $10 million, with each individual gold medallist receiving $150,000.
The National Athletics Centre in Budapest, built for the 2023 World Athletics Championships, will provide the stage for the inaugural competition.
With the qualification window remaining open until September 2, Nigeria could still increase its representation before the team departs for Hungary.
