AFOLABI SAHEED OLAWALE
Nigerian sprinters Kanyinsola Ajayi and Ezekiel Nathaniel have become the first athletes from the country to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China.
The duo achieved the qualifying standards on Sunday, August 23, the opening day of the qualification window, which runs until August 22, 2027.
Ajayi booked his place in the men’s 100m after clocking an impressive 9.94 seconds at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Poland.
His time was inside the World Athletics automatic entry standard of 9.95 seconds for the event.
Nathaniel also secured his ticket in the men’s 400m hurdles, posting 47.83 seconds to comfortably dip under the qualifying mark of 48.00 seconds.
Their performances make Ajayi and Nathaniel the first Nigerian athletes to achieve the automatic qualifying standards for the Beijing championships.
Under the World Athletics qualification system, automatic entry is reserved for athletes competing in designated Category A, B and C competitions, with a maximum of 40 athletes admitted in most events.
Member federations can enter up to four athletes in an individual event, although no more than three athletes from the same country can ultimately start the competition.
However, where an athlete receives a wild-card entry, such as the defending champion, a federation may have all four athletes compete in that event.
Among the selected entry standards for Beijing 2027 are 9.95 seconds for the men’s 100m, 10.96 seconds for the women’s 100m, 20.07 seconds for the men’s 200m, 22.45 seconds for the women’s 200m and 44.45 seconds for the men’s 400m as well as 50.00s for women in the same event.
In the hurdles, athletes must run 13.18 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles and 12.60 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles, while the standards for the 400m hurdles are 48.00 seconds for men and 54.00 seconds for women.
The marathon standards are set at 2:06:00 for men and 2:23:20 for women, while the long jump marks are 8.25m for men and 6.86m for women.
In the field events, the men’s standards include 78.20m in the hammer throw, 21.50m in the shot put, 67.20m in the discus and 85.50m in the javelin.
For women, the corresponding marks are 73.60m in the hammer throw, 19.30m in the shot put, 64.50m in the discus and 64.00m in the javelin.
With the qualifying window now open, more Nigerian athletes will have the opportunity to join Ajayi and Nathaniel on the road to Beijing as they chase the required standards over the next 12 months.
