- Ezekiel Nathaniel has broken his own African 400m indoor record, clocking 44.74 seconds at the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship in Texas
- The 21-year-old Nigerian sprinter improved on his previous 44.92s record, which he set just two weeks ago
- The Nigerian athlete first gained international attention at the 2021 World U-20 Championships before moving to the U.S. to further his career
Nigeria’s sprint sensation Ezekiel Nathaniel has once again rewritten African athletics history, shattering his own 400m indoor record at the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship in Lubbock, Texas.
The 21-year-old ran an astonishing 44.74 seconds to lower his previous record of 44.92 seconds, set just two weeks ago at the Jarvis Scott Invite, also in Lubbock.
Nathaniel, who was a semifinalist in the men’s 400m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, became the first African to break the 45-second barrier indoors earlier this year. His recent achievement now makes him one of the fastest men in history over the distance.
Lining up in the final alongside Arizona State’s Jayden Davis, Nathaniel displayed sheer determination from the start. He surged to the front with an aggressive 21.09-second opening lap, taking control of the race early. Despite Davis’s push in the qualification round, the Nigerian showed incredible stamina and maintained his lead through to the finish.
Clocking 44.74 seconds, Nathaniel stormed to victory, leaving Davis in second place with 44.95 seconds.
The record-breaking run also earned Nathaniel a place among the top eight fastest men ever over the distance, as well as sixth in NCAA history.
Nathaniel’s heroics didn’t stop at the 400m final. He later anchored Baylor University’s men’s 4x400m relay team to their 17th overall Big 12 title, clocking a time of 3:04.78.
His contributions helped Baylor secure a third-place finish in the overall team standings with 84 points, behind Oklahoma State (87 points) and Texas Tech (124 points).
What’s next for Nathaniel?
With momentum firmly on his side, the Nigerian is set to compete at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships from March 14-15 in Virginia Beach.
He is also expected to represent Nigeria at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, from March 21-23.
Nathaniel, who started his athletics journey with Buka Tigers Athletics Club in Ijebu Ode, burst onto the global stage in 2021 when he finished fourth at the World U-20 Championships. Since then, he has continued to break barriers, including smashing Henry Amike’s 34-year-old Nigerian 400m hurdles record in 2022 and lowering it again in 2024.
With each race, Ezekiel Nathaniel is proving that his rise in athletics is no fluke—it’s a statement. And the best may still be yet to come.
Paris Olympics 2024: Nathaniel, Oborududu impress with wins as Okezie misses out
Previously, TheRadar reported that Nigeria’s hurdler, Ezekiel Nathaniel, broke a 12-year-old record to emerge the third Nigerian in a 400m hurdles semi-final. Oborududu, who represented Nigeria in the wrestling event, beats Canada’s Morais for the second time since their last meeting in 2022.
Although Chidi Okezie was unable to progress to the semifinals even after the repechage round, Nigeria still has Samuel Ogazi who qualified automatically from round one.
