Nigerian athletics fans were surprised after the official start lists for the men’s 100m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games did not include Nigeria’s fastest man, Kanyinsola Ajayi.
However, Ajayi’s absence from the heats is not due to injury or withdrawal. Instead, the Nigerian sprint star has been granted automatic qualification to the men’s 100m semi-finals based on his world ranking and outstanding performances over the past year.
Ajayi is among a select group of elite sprinters who bypassed the opening round and will begin their campaign directly in the semi-finals.
Other athletes who also received automatic passage include South Africa’s Gift Leotlela, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, Canada’s Jerome Blake, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme and Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy.
The NCAA 100m champion has enjoyed a remarkable season, cementing his place among the world’s leading sprinters with a series of impressive performances that earned him a direct entry into the latter stages of the event.
Meanwhile, Team Nigeria will still have two representatives in the opening-round heats on Monday, July 27.
National champion Favour Ashe will compete in Heat 1 from Lane 4. Ashe heads into the race with a season’s best of 9.93 seconds, recorded at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Lagos in June, and is expected to be among the favourites to qualify.
Later, Fakorede Adekalu will line up in Heat 10 from Lane 3 with a season’s best of 9.98 seconds as he aims to join Ashe in the next round.
Beyond the sprints, Nigeria will also be represented in the women’s hammer throw qualification by Oyesade Olatoye, who enters the competition with a season’s best of 70.46m.
Teenage sprint sensation Miracle Ezechukwu will contest the women’s 100m heats, while para-athlete Eucharia Iyiazi will compete in the women’s F57 shot put final, giving Team Nigeria an early opportunity to challenge for a medal.
Ahead of the athletics programme, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Chief Tonobok Okowa, expressed confidence in the country’s chances, describing the Glasgow squad as one of Nigeria’s strongest in recent years.
“The number of top Nigerian athletes participating at the Games is encouraging. This is an excellent spirit and it signals a renewed commitment to representing their fatherland at international competitions,” Okowa said.
With Kanyinsola Ajayi already safely through to the semi-finals and several other Nigerian stars beginning their campaigns on Monday, Team Nigeria will be aiming for a strong start as athletics takes centre stage at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
