Amusan, Ajayi leads Team Nigeria to its maiden World Ultimate Championship

Tobi Amusan, Kayinsola Ajayi and Nathaniel Ezekiel will lead the Nigerian contingent to the maiden edition of the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, scheduled to be held at the National Athletics Center in Budapest, Hungary this September.

The three-day championship will feature Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and the best players of the 2026 season in a new global competition designed to crown the ultimate champion in athletics.

Nigerian athletes Amusan, Ezekiel, Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo and Ajayi have already qualified, with other athletes still targeting to qualify before the September 2 deadline, including Temitope Adeshina.

The Nigerian relay group includes Alaba Akintola, Udodi Onwuzurike, Favor Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Chigozie and Jennifer Obi Chukwuka.

Nigerian athletes will face an impressive field in Budapest, led by Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis, Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred, Faith Kipyegon, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Rai Benjamin and Marileidy Paulino, alongside world champions Femke Bol, Letsile Tebogo, Oblique Seville, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Nicola Olyslagers and Ditaji Kambundji.

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Amusan, the world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, has an official record of 12.12 seconds, which was recorded in the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she went on to win Nigeria’s first women’s World Championship gold medal.

He is also a three-time Diamond League Finals winner and currently sits at No. 2 in the world for the event.

Ajayi emerges as one of the most exciting sprinters in the world of athletics. The 21-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2026 season, ranking fifth globally according to World Athletics.

He equaled Nigeria’s national record three times during the year, most recently running 9.84 seconds to win the Novuna London Athletics Meet in July, a race in which he beat reigning world champion Seville by the same time he had previously used to beat the Americans at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. His campaign also included one NCAA title and two Diamond League wins.

Ezekiel heads to Budapest having won gold in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he clocked 48.47 seconds.

He first announced himself internationally in 2022 by winning the Big 12 title and breaking Nigeria’s record with 48.42 seconds, before achieving a national record of 47.11 seconds in 2025. Since then, he has competed at several World Championships and the Paris Olympics, and is currently ranked No. 4th in the world in the event.

Ogazi has gone from youth Olympic finalist to Commonwealth champion and national record holder. The 20-year-old produced the most impressive performance of his career in Glasgow, winning men’s 400m gold in 44.25 seconds, just 0.01 seconds outside the Commonwealth Games record of 44.24 set by Grenada’s Kirani James in 2014.

He had set a Nigerian national record of 43.38 seconds on June 12, and ran 44.52 seconds in the Glasgow semi-final, the fastest time in qualifying. He was a finalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics and arrived in Glasgow ranked No. 1 in the world, according to Commonwealth Sport, which also lists him as the fourth-fastest person in 400m history.

Onojuvwevwo has enjoyed a breakthrough season. The 21-year-old made history in April when she ran 49.59 seconds at the LSU Battle on the Bayou, becoming the first Nigerian woman to break 50 seconds in the 400m since the Falilat Ogunkoya era.

He previously won the 400m title at the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships in 50.96 seconds, before running 50.28 seconds in the preliminaries of the NCAA Indoor Championships to set an African indoor record and take bronze in the final in 50.76 seconds. She closed her season with bronze in the women’s 400m at Glasgow 2026, clocking 51.00 seconds.

The championship carries a record $10 million prize pool, with each gold medalist set to receive $150,000. The Budapest National Athletics Center, built for the 2023 World Athletics Championships on the eastern bank of the Danube, will host the event.