Kanyinsola Ajayi sets new Meet Record with vlistering 9.92s 100m sprint in France

Kanyinsola Ajayi continued his remarkable sprinting form on Monday evening, storming to victory in the men’s 100m event at the Meeting International de Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France with a stunning 9.92 seconds.

The 20-year-old Nigerian talent delivered the standout performance at the Stade Jean Adret, demolishing the long-standing meet record of 10.02 seconds set by Trinidad and Tobago’s Keston Bledman in 2015.

Ajayi’s impressive run, backed by a permissible tailwind of +1.7 m/s, saw him outpace a field stacked with five sub-10 second sprinters.

Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon secured second place with a time of 10.04 seconds, while Senegal’s Mamadou Sarr came third in 10.10 seconds. Great Britain’s Eugene Amo-Dadzie finished fourth, clocking 10.16 seconds, just ahead of Australia’s Rohan Browning who recorded the same time but was edged out on time differential.

This latest victory marks Ajayi’s first outing since placing fourth at the NCAA Championships in Oregon, where he also clocked 9.92 seconds. The Auburn University athlete’s consistency and speed have now firmly placed him among the world’s elite sprinters in 2025. With his latest feat, Ajayi ties Seun Ogunkoya and Udodi Onwuzurike for fourth on Nigeria’s all-time 100m list, behind only Soji Fasuba (9.85s), Divine Oduduru (9.86s), and Godson Oghenebrume (9.90s).

Ajayi also joins Davidson Ezinwa and Ogunkoya as the only Nigerians to record four sub-10 second runs — the second-highest tally by a Nigerian sprinter in history. The young sprinter, who clinched the Nigerian national 100m title in June 2024, continues to grow in stature after reaching the semi-finals of the men’s 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics and anchoring Nigeria’s 4x100m relay team.

Earlier this year, he narrowly missed a medal at the African Championships in Douala, Cameroon, finishing fourth in the individual event but securing a silver medal for Nigeria in the 4x100m relay. His indoor season also sparkled, having posted a lifetime best of 6.48 seconds over 60m at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships and a runner-up finish in Virginia Beach with 6.52 seconds.

At just 20 years old, Ajayi has now recorded two of Nigeria’s top five all-time legal 100m marks — a sign that the young sprinter’s dominance on the track has only just begun.