Ajayi, Ogazi, Nnamdi make Bowerman semifinal list
Nigeria's remarkable rise in United States collegiate athletics has reached another milestone, with sprint stars Kayinsola Ajayi and Samuel Ogazi, alongside javelin thrower Chinecherem Nnamdi, earning places on the men's semifinal list for the prestigious 2026 Bowerman Award.
The Bowerman, regarded as the highest individual honour in U.S. collegiate track and field, released its men's semifinalists on Thursday through the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The announcement comes just a day after Nigerian high jumper Temitope Adeshina was named among the women's semifinalists, giving Nigeria an impressive four athletes across both categories in what is one of the country's strongest-ever representations in the history of the award.
Ajayi, who competes for Auburn University, secured his nomination after a sensational sprint season that saw him complete the rare NCAA indoor and outdoor sprint double. The Lagos-born athlete captured the NCAA indoor 60m title before claiming the outdoor 100m crown in a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds, the second-fastest all-conditions time in NCAA history behind Obadele Thompson.
Earlier in the season, Ajayi clocked a wind-legal 9.84 seconds to break the Nigerian 100m record, narrowly missing Christian Coleman's collegiate record of 9.82 seconds. He also equalled Coleman's NCAA 60m record of 6.45 seconds twice before winning the national indoor title.
For Samuel Ogazi, the honour follows one of the finest 400m campaigns ever seen in collegiate athletics. Representing the University of Alabama, the Kaduna-born runner swept both the NCAA indoor and outdoor 400m titles.
His stunning 43.38 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships shattered Michael Norman's collegiate record, broke the Nigerian national record and elevated him to fourth on the all-time world list. Earlier in the year, Ogazi won the NCAA indoor title in 44.57 seconds, matching the previous world indoor record before becoming the first collegiate athlete to record multiple sub-44-second performances outdoors.
Texas A&M's Chinecherem Nnamdi also earned recognition after dominating the men's javelin this season. The Nigerian claimed the NCAA title with a throw of 82.26 metres, having earlier set a new Nigerian record of 84.68 metres at the Tom Jones Memorial, a mark that moved him to fourth on the all-time collegiate rankings. He also added the SEC title to his impressive season.
On the women's side, Temitope Adeshina enjoyed an unbeaten collegiate campaign for Texas Tech, successfully defending her NCAA indoor high jump title with a clearance of 1.97 metres before winning the outdoor crown with 1.96 metres.
The remaining men's semifinalists are Simeon Birnbaum (Oregon), Tah Chikomba (Kansas State), Geoffrey Kirwa (Louisville), Jaiden Reid (LSU), Colin Sahlman (Northern Arizona), Habtom Samuel (New Mexico) and Ja'Kobe Tharp (Auburn).
The finalists for the men's award will be unveiled on June 30, while the overall winners will be announced in December during the USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.
Nigeria has steadily grown its presence in the Bowerman conversation in recent years. Blessing Okagbare became the country's first finalist in 2010, followed by Divine Oduduru in 2019 and Ezekiel Nathaniel in 2025.
With four Nigerians now among this year's semifinalists, hopes are high that the country will once again have finalists competing for collegiate athletics' most coveted individual award.
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