At the Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland, Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel made headlines by setting a new national record in the men’s 400m hurdles. Meanwhile, Tobi Amusan and Favour Ofili also won medals in their events.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi kept up his fight for a place in the season-ending finals with a steady performance in the men’s shot put.
Nathaniel ran the 400m hurdles in 47.31 seconds, finishing second behind Norway’s Karsten Warholm, the Olympic champion and world record holder, who won with a time of 46.28 seconds. Warholm’s time was a meeting record and the fastest in the world this year.
Nathaniel’s time beat his previous Nigerian record of 47.49 seconds, which he set in June 2025 in Oregon during the NCAA finals. But despite this great run, he is ninth in the Diamond League rankings with 13 points.
Only the top eight qualify for the finals, so Nathaniel missed out because he joined the professional circuit late after a strong college season in the US.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Amusan finished third in a tough race with a time of 12.25 seconds. The winner was Masai Russell from the US in 12.19 seconds, followed by her teammate Tonea Marshall in second place.
Amusan, who holds the world record, had already earned enough points in earlier races to qualify for the finals in Zurich and is still in the running for her fourth Diamond Trophy.
With 23 points, she is second in the standings behind Grace Stark from the US, making sure Nigeria will be represented in the women’s sprint hurdles final.
In the women’s 200m, Favour Ofili, who has ties to Turkey, came third with a time of 22.25 seconds. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson won in 22.17 seconds, with American Brittany Brown second at 22.21 seconds.
Ofili joined the Diamond League late and only has six points, putting her 13th in the rankings, outside the top eight needed for the finals. Since she has no more races left, her season ends despite the strong run.
Enekwechi threw 21.56 metres to finish seventh in the men’s shot put. The winner was Payton Otterdahl from the US with 22.28 metres, followed by Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri and American Joe Kovacs.
Enekwechi is seventh in the rankings with 11 points. He is already set to compete in the final qualifying meet in Lausanne, where he has one last chance to make the Zurich finals.
Amusan is the only Nigerian guaranteed a place in the Diamond League finals. Enekwechi still has a chance as the series moves to Lausanne for the final qualifying round before the big event in Zurich on August 27 and 28. Only the best performers from the 14-meet series will compete for the Diamond Trophy and a share of the $2.24 million prize fund.