Amusan, Ajayi, Ezekiel, Ogazi, Others Get Set for World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest

Nigeria is set for a strong representation at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, scheduled for September 11–13, 2026, at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.
The three-day championship will bring together Olympic champions, World champions, Diamond League winners and the world’s leading performers of the 2026 season in a new global competition designed to crown the ultimate champions in track and field.
Nigeria’s current qualified athletes include Tobi Amusan, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo and Kayinsola Ajayi, with additional athletes still targeting qualification before the September 2 deadline.
Temitope Adeshina remains among the athletes hoping to secure qualification, while Nigeria’s relay pool includes Alaba Akintola, Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Chigozie and Jennifer Obi Chukwuka.
The Nigerian contingent will face an exceptional field in Budapest, with a galaxy of global champions and Olympic stars already qualified. Among the headline names are Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis, Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred, Faith Kipyegon, Yaroslavа Mahuchikh, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Rai Benjamin, Marileidy Paulino. World champions including Femke Bol, Letsile Tebogo, Oblique Seville, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Nicola Olyslagers and Ditaji Kambundji are also set to add to the quality of the competition.
The Ultimate Championship is expected to provide a particularly significant opportunity for Nigeria’s emerging generation, with Ajayi and Ogazi among the country’s young athletes making their mark on the global stage, alongside established stars Amusan Ezekiel.
Tobi Amusan, the reigning world-record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles owns the official world record of 12.12 seconds, set in the semifinal of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she went on to win Nigeria’s first-ever women’s World Championships gold medal. She is also a three-time Diamond League Final winner and a World Championships silver medallist. Amusan currently sits No. 2 in the world rankings for the event.
Another member of the Nigerian contingent Kayinsola Ajayi arrives as one of the most exciting sprinters in world athletics. The 21-year-old Nigerian has enjoyed a sensational 2026 season, establishing himself among the world’s elite 100m runners and currently ranking fifth globally according to World Athletics.
Ajayi equalled Nigeria’s national record three times in 2026, most recently running 9.84 seconds to win the Novuna London Athletics Meet in July. On that occasion, he defeated reigning world champion Oblique Seville, clocking the same 9.84 that he had previously run to beat Seville at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
His 2026 campaign has also included an NCAA title, two Diamond League victories and meteoric rise to the upper echelon of global sprinting.
Ajayi’s emergence gives Nigeria one of its strongest men’s 100m prospects in years and puts him firmly among the athletes capable of challenging for major international honours.
Sldo, Nathaniel Ezekiel has established himself as one of Nigeria’s premier 400m hurdlers. He goes to Budapest on the back of winning gold in the men’s 400mH at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, in resounding 48.47s win. He first announced himself internationally in 2022 by winning the Big 12 title and breaking the Nigerian record with 48.42 seconds. He has since competed at multiple World Championships and the Paris Olympics, while progressing to a 47.11-second Nigerian national record in 2025. He currently ranks No. 4 in the world in the men’s 400m hurdles and is also a Diamond League meeting winner.