PHOTO CREDIT: Sports Day Online
Kayinsola Ajayi Gets Diamond League Final Spot in Brussels
Nigerian sprint star Kayinsola Ajayi has been confirmed for the men’s 100m at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday.

The final will hold at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme stadium, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Ajayi did not qualify through the points table, but he was handed a global wildcard spot due to his world ranking this year.

Under Diamond League rules, organisers can invite up to four global wildcards — two men and two women — for the final.

To be eligible, an athlete must have competed in at least one Diamond League meet during the season and must meet at least one of these criteria: World record holder, reigning world, Olympic or Diamond League champion, top five in World Athletics rankings for the event, or top 20 in the overall World Athletics rankings.

The 21-year-old Nigerian qualifies as the fourth-fastest man in the world over 100m this year, behind Olympic champion Noah Lyles, world champion Oblique Seville and Commonwealth Games champion Emmanuel Eseme.

He has enjoyed a superb season, winning two Diamond League races in London and at the Prefontaine Classic.

Ordinarily, a race that already has a national wildcard cannot also include a global wildcard. Belgium’s Simon Verherstraeten had already been added as a national wildcard in the men’s 100m, but Ajayi now gets in following the withdrawal of African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala.

If he wins on Saturday, Ajayi will be crowned Diamond League champion and receive the Diamond Trophy, although he will not be entitled to the full prize money.

It has been a breakthrough year for Ajayi, who broke the Nigerian 100m record with 9.84s at the 2026 NCAA Division I East First Round in the US in May, eclipsing Olusoji Fasuba’s 20-year-old record of 9.85s.

He went on to win the NCAA title and claimed Commonwealth Games bronze in the men’s 100m. On Sunday, he clocked his 15th career sub-10-second run in Switzerland
SOURCE: Punch Newspapers –