Nigerian sprinter Tima Godbless made headlines at the NCAA East Preliminary meet in Florida on Thursday, running a new personal best of 10.91 seconds (1.2 m/s) in the first heat of the women’s 100m to post the fastest time in the world this year.
The 20-year-old Louisiana State University athlete’s blistering run saw her finish comfortably ahead of Joella Lloyd of Florida State University, who placed second in 11.10 seconds.
She is now the fourth-fastest Nigerian woman of all time, behind only Blessing Okagbare (10.79s), Rosemary Chukwuma (10.88s), and Glory Alozie (10.90s).
Her performance leads the global rankings for 2025 and she advances to Friday’s quarterfinals as the top contender for the final spot at the NCAA Championships.
Elsewhere in the East Prelims, Nigerian athletes also impressed in the men’s 400 metres as Edidiong Udo won his heat in 45.59s, finishing ahead of Ashton Schwartzman, who clocked 45.84s.
Samuel Ogazi earned another Nigerian victory in heat four, posting 45.72s to edge Ervin Pearson, who returned 45.77s.
In the men’s 100 metres, three Nigerian athletes qualified for the quarterfinals.
Kanyinsola Ajayi finished second in his heat with a time of 10.21s (-0.4 m/s), behind Jaiden Reid who ran 10.19s. Fakorede Nicholas also placed second in his heat with 10.30s, while Sunday Israel Okon won his race in 10.36s to progress.
Meanwhile, at the NCAA West Prelims in College Station, Texas, Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel recorded a dominant win in the men’s 400 metres hurdles.
The African Games champion eased through his heat in 49.37s to qualify for the next round. Mario Paul was a distant second in 50.15s.
In the field events, Charles Godfred won his place at the NCAA Championships with a season’s best of 8.10m (+1.4 m/s) in the men’s long jump.
The first-round effort was enough to top the qualifying chart and maintain his unbeaten run in 2025. Chris Preddie was the only other jumper to surpass eight metres, finishing with 8.01m.
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held from June 11 to 14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The top athletes from the East and West Prelims will converge at the iconic venue to compete for national titles across 42 events.
