Meet the African sprinters leading the pack at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships have gathered the best collegiate track & field athletes from American universities at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. With 54 countries represented, it's a truly international affair. Nowhere is that more clear than the men’s 100m and 200m events, where the majority of finalists are from African nations.
While the sprints are normally dominated by the latest crop of American Olympic hopefuls at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, it was African athletes who stood out during the preliminary rounds on Wednesday 5 June.
Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi and Ghana’s Saminu Abdul-Rasheed registered heat wins in the men’s 100m, while Côte d’Ivoire’s Cheickna Traore and Uganda’s Tarsis Orogot clocked the fastest times in the men’s 200m.
Their performances demonstrated how the continent is closing the gap on sprinting powerhouses like the United States of America, Great Britain and Jamaica. The continent won 23 medals in athletics at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, but only one of those came in a distance shorter than 800m.
Nonetheless, with Letsile Tebogo, Akani Simbine, Ferdinand Omanyala, Gina Bass and Marie-Joseé Ta Lou-Smith racking up victories on the international circuit, and a new generation of collegiate athletes challenging for top placings at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, that may be about to change at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Read on to find out more about the collegiate sprinters looking to put Africa on the top step of the podium at Paris 2024.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Nigeria’s trio of sprinters threatens 100m sweep
Kanyinsola Ajayi, Favour Ashe and Godson Oghenebrume lead the way for Nigeria at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The trio advanced to the final of the men’s 100m after confident performances in the preliminary round.
Ajayi finished with the second-fastest time of the day. The 19-year-old has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most exciting sprinting prospects, with victories at domestic meets and collegiate events in the US.
He has yet to achieve the entry standard for Paris 2024, but he will get a second chance in the 100m final on Friday 7 June.
Unlike their younger counterpart, Ashe and Oghenebrume have already clocked a time under entry standard for Paris 2024. Both will look to improve their times in the final, however, as their preliminary performances were slower than their season’s best markings.
Oghenebrume will be eager to add to his family’s long list of athletics honors generated by his sister, Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Ese Brume, while Ashe will look to build on the bronze medal he won as part of the 4x100m relay at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The trio will attempt to make history for Nigeria by becoming the first athletes to sweep the podium in a single event at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Raymond Ekevwo, Favour Ashe, Alaba Olukunle Akintola and Seye Ogunlewe of Team Nigeria celebrate after qualifying for the men's 4x100m relay final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
South Africa’s next sprinting great: Shuan Maswanganyi
Tokyo 2020 olympian Shaun Maswanganyi has been to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on three separate occasions. He has three podium finishes to his name, but has yet to win an individual title. He’ll look to make 2024 his crowning season.
The 23-year-old South African is already an accomplished sprinter at the international level. He won a silver medal at the postponed 2021 FISU Summer University Games last year in the 100m and made it to the 200m semifinals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
A double threat in the sprints, Maswanganyi has a chance to become one of South Africa’s greatest athletes, or at least follow in the footsteps of athletes like Akani Simbine and 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk.
His Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 was encouraging, with the young South African advancing to the semifinals in both the 100m and 200m. With a few more years of experience in his legs, he’ll be hoping for even better results at Paris 2024.
Shaun Maswanganyi (RSA) in the heats of the mens 100m during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Ghana’s rising sprinting star aims for double in Eugene
Ghana’s Saminu Abdul-Rasheed may not have been the prohibited favorite coming into the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but he’ll certainly leave Eugene with a lot to show.
A pair of strong performances saw the relatively unknown sprinter from the village of Nanumba, Ghana advance to finals of both the men’s 100m and 200m. The 22-year-old is now one of a few athletes left with a chance to win more than one individual event in Eugene.
His fifth and eighth fastest times will certainly give him something to chase. Although, it may be his rivals who regret beating him in the preliminary round.
With a background in rabbit hunting, Abdul-Rasheed will likely relish the opportunity to chase down quicker rivals. Add in the fact he is still pursuing the entry standards for Paris 2024, and it becomes an even more daunting task to hold off the former soccer player who is fluent in five languages.
Abdul-Rasheed has yet to race at a major international championship, but his results certainly seem to indicate his readiness to move to the next level if selected to the Ghanaian team for Paris 2024.
Tarsis Orogot (UGA) competes in the men's 200m heats at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023.
Tarsis Orogot charts new ground for Uganda
Uganda has become a cross-country and distance running powerhouse in recent years. The nation has produced world champions like Jacob Kiplimo and Halimah Nakaayi, and Olympic champions such as Joshua Cheptegei and Peruth Chemutai. However, one place the nation hasn’t excelled is in the sprints.
Tarsis Orogot is the sprinter looking to change that reality for the East African nation. He breezed into the 200m final at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships with a time of 20.09 seconds.
The national record holder in both the 100m and 200m has only gotten faster in his collegiate years, consistently lowering his personal bests in both events. His motto, “just a boy with a dream” seems apt for an athlete who started in rugby and is now preparing to challenge for a medal at Paris 2024.
A victory in Eugene will certainly leave Ugandans hopeful for Paris 2024. Of course, he’ll need to run his quickest times to have any chance of making the podium in Paris.
Traore and Charamba chasing collegiate 200m title
Cheickna Traore will enter the men’s 200m final as the favorite for an individual title. He clocked the fastest time in the preliminary round, nearly breaking the 20 second barrier with a time of 20.02 seconds.
The 23-year-old from Côte d’Ivoire has limited international experience, but achieved the entry standard for Paris 2024 earlier this season. He will make his Olympic debut in Paris if selected to the Côte d’Iviore national team.
Makanakaishe Charamba of Zimbabwe will also look to build momentum off a strong collegiate season as seeks his debut at the Olympic Games.
The 22-year-old was fifth in the preliminary round of the men’s 200m. Like Traore, he has limited experience at the international level.
Both will be hoping for a strong result in Eugene to bolster their Olympic prospects ahead of Paris 2024.