Nigerian stars seek World Athletics Ultimate Champs glory - Punch Newspapers
Silver medallist Nigeria's Tobi Amusan poses on the podium for the women's 100m hurdles final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 16, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
Action begins on Friday (today) in Budapest, Hungary, at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, where Nigeria will see her leading athletes compete in three events on the opening night of the inaugural competition, The PUNCH reports. Led by star hurdler and former world champion Tobi Amusan, Nigeria will compete in the women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals and potentially the final, the mixed 4x100m final, and the women’s 400m semi-finals. The first medal at the championship will be contested in the first event of the night, the mixed 4x100m relay, where Nigeria will line up against hosts Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Germany and the United States. Amusan will compete in the semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles, while Ella Onojuvwevwo will run in the women’s 400m, which also begins with the semi-finals. The women’s 100m final will come up one hour and 16 minutes after the semi-finals. Nigeria will be represented in Budapest by a star-studded squad featuring a blend of established stars and emerging talents across individual and mixed relay events. Amusan is also listed for the mixed 4x100m event, but the scheduling has technically limited her to concentrating on the hurdles. Amusan pockets $75k for Ultimate Champs silver Visa issues deny Nigeria mixed 4x100m chance in Hungary Onwuzurike hungry for more glory in Budapest Other members of the mixed 4x100m team are Alaba Akintola, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Udodi Onwuzurike and Rosemary Nwankwo. However, Ezechukwu was still awaiting her visa as of Thursday, meaning the team will be incomplete if she is unable to make it to Budapest before call time. Aside from the events on the opening night, Nigeria will also have strong representation in the men’s 100m, where Kanyinsola Ajayi will compete. Ajayi will line up in the second semi-final on Saturday, running against a strong field including Ackeem Blake, 2020 Olympic Games champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, USA’s Kenneth Bednarek, African champion Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, Colombia’s Ronal Longa and Ronnie Baker. Onwuzurike will also compete in the men’s 200m on Sunday and the mixed 4x100m relay. Some of his foes in the first semi-final include Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo and Bednarek. African record-holder Ezekiel Nathaniel will take on the men’s 400m hurdles on the final day. Abiodun Adewale Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years
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