Nigeria’s sprint sensation Kanyinsola Ajayi will go head-to-head with the world’s current fastest man, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, in a blockbuster men’s 100m race at the Gyulai István Memorial – Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix on Tuesday, August 12, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Ajayi, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year on the international circuit, will line up in Budapest against one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the event.

Thompson clocked 9.75s this season to top the World Athletics rankings and record the fastest time in the world in the past decade.

The men’s 100m will be the showpiece finale of the meeting, which forms part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series.

Every international entrant in the race has run under 10s, making it a high-stakes test for the 20-year-old Nigerian.

Other world-class contenders include South Africa’s Akani Simbine, the African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, Ghanaian national record-holder AbdulRasheed Saminu, and seasoned American sprinters Ronnie Baker and Chris Coleman.

Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake and Rohan Watson complete the all-star cast, alongside Hungarian champion Dominik Illovszky.

Ajayi has been in scintillating form this season, clocking four sub-10-second performances in as many months.

He equalled his personal best of 9.92s in July at the Meeting International Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France, following a winning run of 9.96s at the Tom Jones Memorial in Florida earlier in the year.

The Nigerian national champion reached the semi-finals of the men’s 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics and is currently ranked 13th fastest in the world this season.

His performances have already earned him qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo this September, where he will aim to further establish himself among the global sprinting elite.

The Budapest duel will be another chance for Ajayi to test himself against the very best in the world and perhaps deliver another statement run in his remarkable season.