Nigerian record holder Kayinsola Ajayi will compete in the men’s 100m at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday. This is according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
The Wanda Diamond League Final will hold at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels.
Ajayi did not qualify for the final through the points standings. But he is eligible to compete as a global wildcard based on his world ranking this year.
The Diamond League rules say that meeting organisers can invite up to four global wildcard athletes, which includes two men and two women, to the Wanda Diamond League Final.
“A global wild card athlete must have competed in at least one Diamond League meeting in the course of the season, and must fulfil at least one of the following criteria in their chosen discipline: World record holder, reigning world, Olympic or Diamond League champion, top five in the World Athletics rankings of their event, top 20 in the overall World Athletics rankings,” the rules explain.
Ajayi is the fourth-fastest man in the world for the 100m this year. He is behind Olympic champion Noah Lyles, world champion Oblique Seville, and Commonwealth Games champion Emmanuel Eseme.
The 21-year-old has also won two Diamond League races this season, in London and at the Prefontaine Classic.
But the Diamond League rules also say, “No competition which already contains a national wild card athlete can also contain a global wild card athlete.”
Belgium’s Simon Verherstraeten has been added as a national wildcard in the men’s 100m line-up. However, Ajayi can still race due to the withdrawal of African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala.
If Ajayi wins, he will be crowned Diamond League champion and receive the Diamond Trophy, but he will not get the full prize money.
Ajayi has had an impressive season. He broke the Nigerian 100m record with a time of 9.84 seconds at the 2026 NCAA Division I East First Round in the United States in May.
This new record beat Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old Nigerian record of 9.85 seconds.
He also won the NCAA title and added a Commonwealth Games bronze in the men’s 100m.
On Sunday, he ran the 15th sub-10-second race of his career in Switzerland.
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