Sports
Tokyo 2025: Ajayi, Okon, Storm into 100m Semifinals, as Enekwechi Finishes 5th in Shot Put at World Athletics Championships
Joel Ajayi
Nigeria’s presence at the ongoing 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo was strongly felt on Day 1, as rising sprint stars Kayinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon Sunday delivered electrifying performances to book their spots in the men’s 100m semifinals.
On his World Championships debut, Ajayi produced one of the standout moments of the night, clocking a blistering 9.88s in his heat to smash his Personal Best (PB).
In doing so, he became the third-fastest Nigerian sprinter of all time behind Olusoji Fasuba (9.85s) and Divine Oduduru (9.86s). The 21-year-old has also etched his name further in history, recording five sub-10s this season, the most by any Nigerian in a single year, and tying the all-time national record for most sub-10s in a career.
Ajayi placed second in his heat behind South Africa’s Gift Leotlela, who also set a new PB of 9.87s, with Jamaica’s Oblique Seville taking third in 9.93s.
Meanwhile, debutant Israel Okon Sunday showed remarkable composure in his first senior global outing, storming to victory in his heat with a time of 10.04s. Okon crossed the line ahead of Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.06s) and reigning Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs (10.20s), who won gold at the same venue four years ago.
The men’s 100m semifinals are set to be a thriller, with Ajayi lining up against Noah Lyles, Akani Simbine, Ackeem Blake, and Jacobs in Semi 1, while Okon faces Oblique Seville, Letsile Tebogo, Leotlela, Courtney Lindsey, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Romell Glave, and Andre De Grasse in Semi 3.
In the field events, Nigeria’s Shot Put record-holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also impressed, advancing to the finals after throwing 20.83m in qualification.
In the final, Enekwechi battled bravely and narrowly missed out on a historic medal, placing 5th overall with a best effort of 21.52m in the sixth round.
Nigeria will return to action on Day 2 with more actions set to come in Tokyo.
Sports
Montage Community Football Tourney Registration Ends October 30
Cyril Ogar
Registration for the 2026 edition of the Montage Community Football Tournament will close on Friday, October 30, organisers have announced.
The tournament coordinator, Mr Raphael Ekpang, disclosed this on Thursday, urging interested teams across the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to take advantage of the remaining days to register.
Ekpang said registration had been ongoing since Monday, encouraging eligible teams to complete the process before the deadline.
The tournament, themed “Montage FM 99.7: Empowering Youth, Uniting Communities Through Football,” is scheduled to kick off on November 3, 2026, with playoffs across the six Area Councils of the FCT.
The grand finale will hold on December 5, 2026, at the Old Parade Ground, Garki Area 10, Abuja, where the top four teams will compete for first-, second- and third-place honours.
A total of 48 teams will participate in the competition, with eight teams representing each of the six Area Councils.
The participating teams will compete for cash prizes worth over ₦2 million and other valuable rewards.
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