Nigerian athlete, Ezekiel Nathaniel
In a rollercoaster finish at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel came agonizingly close to securing a long-overdue podium spot in the men’s 400m hurdles—only for officials to yank it away in a controversial twist.
According to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nathaniel crossed the line in fourth place during the final, clocking an impressive national record time of 47.11 seconds.
“His performance was electric, shattering his own previous mark,” NAN detailed, highlighting the athlete’s raw speed and determination.
The drama ignited when gold medal favorite Rai Benjamin of the United States was disqualified for knocking over the final hurdle in Lane 6—a mishap that also disrupted Nathaniel’s stride.
Suddenly, the scoreboard flipped: Nathaniel vaulted to bronze, Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos leaped from second to gold, and Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba grabbed silver.
Joy erupted among Nigerian fans, but it proved fleeting.
The U.S. Track and Field Federation (USATF) lodged an immediate appeal, arguing the infraction didn’t warrant a full DQ.
Officials agreed, reinstating Benjamin as champion with his original 46.52-second time. Dos Santos dropped back to silver, Samba to bronze, and Nathaniel tumbled to fourth once more.
Despite the gut-wrenching outcome, Nathaniel etched his name deeper into Nigerian athletics lore.
As NAN noted, “In spite of missing the podium, Nathaniel broke his own national record of 47.31 seconds, set in August,” making him just the second Nigerian ever to reach a World Championships 400m hurdles final—mirroring Henry Amike’s fourth-place finish back in 1987. Nathaniel’s Tokyo run also capped a banner 2025 season, featuring an NCAA title win, two national records shattered, and a string of sub-48-second heats.
For Team Nigeria, the championships ended on a mixed note: one medal in the bag, courtesy of Tobi Amusan’s stellar performance.
“This marks an improvement from the 2023 Budapest Championships, where Nigeria failed to win any medal,” NAN reported, signaling brighter days ahead for the nation’s track stars.
