Seye Ogunlewe
Ogunlewe is Nigeria’s fastest man at the moment, and has competed for the country at international championships like the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville. His enviable position as Nigeria’s fastest man was earned after successfully defending his 100m title at the Nigerian Trials in Delta State in July, making it his second consecutive time of winning Gold in the event.
This is a rare feat by any standard, considering that he defeated a field that had some of the country’s most experienced sprinters in action. Ogunlewe was undefeated in all his races at the Trials, winning the final with a Personal Best time of 10.12s, thereby qualifying for the Olympics in Rio. He is only one of three athletes that qualified for the men’s 100m at the forthcoming Olympic Games, and goes to Rio as the country’s fastest qualifier in the event.
This will be Ogunlewe’s first outing at the Olympics, and his rising profile has inspired hope that Nigeria can once again reclaim its rightful position as a world beater in the sprints, even as he looks set to become the first Nigerian man to run under 10 seconds since Olusoji Fasuba clocked 9.85 seconds in 2006. Ogunlewe has a massive followership on social media and sends Twitter into frenzy each time he competes in a race.
